When William Met Julia
by Nordique1
Summary: This story starts out before season one, but continues on into Seasons 1, 2, 3...
1. Chapter 1

William and all the constables were curiously looking at Inspector Brackenried's office. The Chief Inspector had stormed into Station Four a few moments ago with an angry frown on his face. He had curtly nodded to William and had gone straight to Brackenried's office. It had only taken a few seconds after the door had closed for them to hear Brackenried shout:

"What do you mean a woman?"

Unfortunately, for the assembled audience, Chief Inspector Stockton's voice did not carry as well through the walls as Brackenried's did, and they could not make out the answer. The Inspector was shouting again.:

"…male bodies are naked for autopsies…she'll see everything…"

Even William, who in principle disagreed with listening to other people's conversation, could not stop himself from trying to figure out what was putting the two policemen into such a state. Now even Stockten was shouting:

"Do you think I did not try to stop this Brackenried? But this was over my head. It came from high above."

Suddenly George turned to William with an excited look on his face.

"Do you think Sir, that perhaps they are talking about the new coroner? Do you thing we are going to have a woman coroner?"

The suggestion was so ludicrous to William that he could not stop himself from immediately rebutting George.

"Nonsense George. That's impossible. I know of no female doctor in Toronto. You are making a false assumption based on limited information. As a detective I have found that…."

William did not get to finish his sentence. Just as the Chief Inspector was leaving, Brackenried ordered William into his office:

"In here Murdoch." William gladly went in. He was as curious as the constables to find out why the two men had been so upset. The inspector was pouring himself a drink, and turned around to offer one to the younger man.

"I know you don't normally indulge Murdoch, but today I think you'll change your mind"

William politely refused and settled himself in the chair and patiently waited for the Inspector to talk. The older man went to his desk, picked up a file and brusquely gave it to William.

"Look who the new coroner will be Murdoch."

William took the file and started reading it. He did not bother looking at the doctor's name. He went directly to the man's credential. One of his eyebrows raised and with more attention he continued to read the file. The doctor had studied with the most prominent pathologists in Europe. He had even done a stint at Scotland Yard. William felt excitement grow. With this man, Toronto would have the best pathologist in the Dominion. He looked up. Brackenried was still angrily pacing.

"I don't understand sir. This chap is ten times more qualified than any doctors we have here in Toronto. We are lucky to have him…"

"Bloody well Murdoch. You call yourself a detective. Look at the bloody file. Look at the name."

William turned back to the front page. Ogden. Dr. Julia Ogden. Julia! The chap was a woman! William felt immediate disappointment. A woman as a coroner, she will not last he thought. Too bad, Toronto would never get a coroner as qualified as her. He turned to the inspector.

"Julia Ogden. Is that the Ogdens of….." The detective was again interrupted by Brackenried.

"Of course it's those Ogdens. How else do you think the woman could have gotten the job. Her Daddy intervened of course. Stockten tried to get the decision reversed, but old man Ogden had too much influence."

Even though William was in full agreement with Brackenried regarding a woman coroner, he was actually excited at the thought of working with someone with such high scientific credentials. He had often silently lamented the cavalier attitude of the Toronto coroners; their unwillingness to try new tests and analyses. Too bad she would not last.

" Well Sir." Continued William: "Even though Toronto is not likely to ever get someone of that calibre, I do agree with you that she is misplaced in such a position. I see from her file that while she has worked with world leading pathologists in Europe, she never has been in charge. Considering her age and more importantly her gender, I doubt she will be able to handle the challenges of the job. Have no fears Sir, she will be gone by summer.

Julia was finishing her first report. Her first case, and it had involved a child. Never mind threading a bit of water, she had been forced to jump right in. She did not like cases involving children; detested it when they were the victims, was revolted when they were the culprit. This case had been the later. There had been one positive though: the detective in charge of the case: William Murdoch. He had been polite and respectful. She was convinced she could see curiosity in his eyes, but he had refrained from asking or saying anything. She had been impressed by his wealth of knowledge. The first thing she had done on her arrival was to look at old autopsy reports of her predecessor. They were sorry documents that reeked of pompous statements, and were sadly lacking in scientific evidence. Armed with that knowledge, Julia had been prepared to have to explain her findings to the detective. She had been wrong. He had understood everything she had said. He had even finished a few of her sentences confirming her suspicions that the detective was more than able to keep up with her scientific discourse.

She had been impressed by more than his mind. His dark brown eyes, square jaw and broad shoulders had also left a lasting impression on her. He looked about her age. An age a man should be married. She had made a point of listening to the idle chatter of the constables to try and gather information about him, more importantly his marital status. No success though.

She heard the door open. She looked up to see the young detective walk towards her. No even aware she was doing it, she re-arranged her hair and smoothed down her skirt. She nervously turned to face him as he started talking.

"Good afternoon Doctor. I wanted to stop by and thank you for your work. It was instrumental in my case. Without your expert report, I doubt I could have convinced the crown prosecutor that a twelve year old boy could have killed his parents."

Julia smiled at the detective. She was glad, no not glad, but happy he had dropped by. Needless to say that she had received far from a warm welcomed from the Toronto Constabulary. The young detective has seemed to be the only non-judgemental police officer she had met. More than that, she had found him quite handsome.

"You are quite welcomed Detective." Julia hesitated before continuing. "I also wanted to thank you."

William was a bit taken aback: "Thank me Doctor? For what?"

William immediately felt guilty. He had been the first one to say that the young woman doctor would not last. That the responsibilities of running a morgue would be too much for her, and yet here she was, thanking him.

"For being a professional. For reading my report. For not questioning my findings."

William felt even worse now. He had to say something.

"Your findings were sound Doctor. Backed by scientific facts and unencumbered by personal beliefs and opinions. I could do nothing less than accept them. You do not have to thank me for your expert work."

Julia smiled. "Nevertheless Detective. I do want to thank you. Your opinion of my work unfortunately belongs in the minority." Julia decided to move the conversation to a more personal level.

"It's a beautiful Spring day Detective. How shall you celebrate the successful closing of this case?"

William answered immediately.

"I am afraid, now is not the season to celebrate Doctor. It is Lent. After work, my fiancée and I shall be attending Mass."

Even though Julia had half expected him to be married, she was still very disappointed to find out that while it was not the case, it was as close as. The handsome young detective was engaged, engaged to a catholic girl. Well at least now she had her answer. Julia stood up and walked over to the Detective.

"Well thank you again Detective. Do not let me keep your from your duties."

William politely nodded to her and left. Julia turned around and followed him with her eyes until he left the morgue.


	2. Chapter 2

It was late summer, and despite the excessive muggy heat wave Toronto was suffering, William Murdoch was a happy man. He was cycling to work and could not stop but reflect on how good life was. The sun was shining. He was in love with a beautiful woman and if his luck held, by this time next year he would be married.

Work, well work had never been better. The new coroner was… well, was everything her resume had promised, and more. The misgivings he had expressed about her had been quickly put aside when he had discovered her to be a willing partner in the scientific discussions he so craved. He had even begun to consult with her on more than just autopsy matters. He had found that running some of his theories by her extremely helpful. She asked the right questions, and seemed to always know when to challenge his theories. Even when there were no active cases, he would find a reason to drop by the morgue. They would discuss current affairs, new scientific discoveries, literature. While her opinions often differed from him, he found their conversation mentally stimulating. He was finding himself looking more and more forward to these meetings. As he walked into Station Four, he decided that maybe he would go visit her later on this morning….

William looked at his watch, eleven o'clock. He had caught up with all his paperwork. Maybe a short stop at the morgue before going for lunch was called for. He grabbed his hat on his way out and shouted to George:

"I am off to the morgue, then gone for lunch George. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

Higgins and George exchanged smirks as William left.

William was wondering what music she would be playing on her Vitrola as he walked over. But it was not music her heard as he walked in. It was laughter, happy laughter. Julia was sitting down beside a handsome young man. She had a hand on one of his arms and was bent over laughing, even wiping a few tears of laughter from her eyes. William heard her say:

"Oh Jeremy, you never change. You are absolutely terrible…"

The scene evoked in William strong feelings he did not recognize. He did not know why the familiarity and obvious affection between the two was so distasteful to him. He just felt, and he just reacted. He interrupted them with an abrupt: "Good Morning Doctor."

Julia and the stranger looked up. She guiltily took her hand away from his arm and quickly stood up nervously smoothing down her skirt. Jeremy looked at Julia and William with a curious look.

"Oh. Good morning to you also Detective." She hesitated for a few seconds before introducing Jeremy. Jeremy who was now openly staring at the other two.

"Detective, let me introduce you Jeremy Bellows. We studied medicine in Europe together." She then turned to Jeremy: "Jeremy this is a colleague of mine, Detective William Murdoch."

William was unable to hide his surprise as he walked forward to shake the other man's hand: "Bellows from the Antarctic expedition? "

"The same." answered Jeremy. William continued:

"Your talk on the expedition tonight is the event of the month. Everybody is talking about it."

"You'll be attending then?" asked Jeremy. William answered negatively.

"Sadly no. I tried to obtain tickets but unfortunately they were all gone.``

Jeremy did not hesitate a second: "Oh you must come then as special guest of mine." As he saw William trying to decline, he continued:

"I insist Murdoch. Julia will be there of course. You could join us for dinner afterwards."

Julia interrupted: "Yes of course William, you must come. Bring Lisa along also. I had planned a small light supper at my home afterwards. It is much too hot to eat a big meal in a muggy restaurant."

Jeremy shot a surprised look at Julia before speaking: "It's settled then. We will see you both tonight."

William had no choice but to agree. He nodded his farewell to Julia and Jeremy and left the morgue. He had lost his appetite. Instead of going to the park with his lunch he went back to the station house. He went straight in to his office and closed the door with a bang.

Higgins smirking, turned to George. "I wonder if that has anything to do with the young chap I saw go into the morgue earlier."

George looked at Higgins and rolled his eyes: "Higgins…."

Julia's eyes had followed William as he had left the morgue. Jeremy quizzically looked at Julia.

"Lisa? Who is Lisa?"

Julia tried to look busy as she answered: "His fiancée."

Jeremy responded with tender laughter: "He is engaged and he looks at you like that? I could feel the darts coming out of his eyes when he first saw us together. Anything you want to confide Julia?

Julia scoffed at his comment: "You are imagining things Jeremy. He is happily engaged to a beautiful girl. You will see tonight."

Jeremy decided to let the subject drop. "What's this about a light meal at your house? I thought we were dining at my hotel?"

"Oh Jeremy. I'm sorry. I hope you are not disappointed. William and his fiancée are saving to get married next year. With his policeman's salary… I did not want to cause any embarrassments…. "

Jeremy smiled and came over to give a hug to Julia: "Oh girl, I think you are in trouble here." Julia smiled, hugged him back, but stayed silent. Maybe if she did not voice her growing feelings for William, they would disappear?

As William escorted Lisa to the speaking hall, he was a bit unsure about this outing tonight. Julia and Lisa had met often and got along very well. He was just unsure about socializing with Julia and that Jeremy. Not that she ever talked about it, but Julia did lead an active social life. Her and her escorts were often mentioned in the society page. It was just a part of her life that William preferred not to see. Lisa interrupted his thoughts:

"You are quiet tonight William. I thought you would be excited. You had so wanted to attend this, and now you not only get a chance to, but you also get personal access to the man itself. I thought you should be ecstatic."

William smiled and squeezed Lisa's hand. : "I am. I am. Lisa. You're right. We should go and enjoy ourselves."

They went in and sat themselves down. William looked for Julia and found her sitting in the second row on the left of Jeremy. Soon he forgot the antipathy he had felt for the young doctor and let himself be taken in by his tales of Antarctic adventures. When the talk was over, William and Lisa slowly made their way to Julia. The two women warmly greeted each other.

"How are you tonight Julia?" asked Lisa. "Well you certainly have a very exciting friend there. He kept me on the edge of my seat all night long."

Julia agreed as she returned Lisa's greeting. "Well Jeremy has always been a very captivating man. Now coupled with an equally captivating subject, I'm afraid it's quite a potent combination guaranteed to win over everybody."

The two women continued chatting and finally Jeremy detached himself from his admirers, mostly women and made his way to them.

"Well ladies, Detective how did you find it?"

Julia was the first to answer. She smiled at her friend. "It was wonderful Jeremy, as you well know it. The whole audience was hanging to your every word."

"Oh you flatter me Julia. You were always good for my ego."

William could not stop himself from interrupting them: "It looks like everybody is leaving. Shall we go then?"

Jeremy graciously continued: "You are quite right Detective. Well Ladies, is there not a saying about beauties going first?"

Lisa giggled at the compliment as she linked an arm with Julia. William and Jeremy fell in step behind them and could be heard conversing about the Antarctic expedition. Lisa smiled at Julia and said:

"Well Julia. That Jeremy of yours is quite charming. You have known him long?"

Julia had a small laugh as she answered; "He's hardly mine. But I have known him for years. After I moved to Europe to finish my studies, Jeremy was the only friendly face in my class. I needed a friend and he was there."

Lisa could not hide her curiosity. "You courted then?" Julia smiled back: "Oh yes we did."

"Was it serious between you?" asked Lisa.

Julia looked at Lisa. "You saw the effect Jeremy has on women Lisa. I think every woman he meets falls a bit in love with him. Unfortunately for us, Lady Adventure is his real love. No woman stands a chance beside her. But luckily for me, I realized that he makes a much better friend than lover." Finished Julia with a smile.

Lisa smiled back and suddenly her face took on a serious look. "But before that, when you were courting, did you get …. was your relationship…..close?"

Julia realized that their conversation had taken on a more serious course. She looked at the younger woman and quietly answered.

"Yes. We were close."

"Oh." answered Lisa. Lisa looked back to ensure that William and Jeremy could not hear: "And as both of you were doctors… you knew how.. there were no chances of…"

It then dawned on Julia that perhaps this whole conversation was more about Lisa looking for information, then Julia's relationship with Jeremy.

"Yes there are ways. Do you perhaps want to know… more?" continued Julia

Lisa was blushing deeply. Obviously this conversation was difficult for her. "It's just that William and I lately…. It's been more intense…and I was wondering if perhaps?"

Julia took pity on the younger woman.

"Lisa of course I can help you. There are ways, some safer than others." She hesitated as the noise of William and Jeremy's conversation became louder indicating the two men were closer to them. "It's difficult to talk now. How about you and I have lunch later on this week? Lisa smiled back her thanks.

"What are you two women whispering about?" teased Jeremy as he walked over.

"None of your concern Sir." answered Julia back with a smile. "Now, I'm hungry. Let's hurry.

Julia was alone in the morgue finishing her latest autopsy report. Normally she would walk the report over to William at Station Four and they would discuss the case. Today though, she had decided otherwise. He was upset with her, she could tell. She had only seen him once in the last week. Let him come to me she thought. I did nothing wrong but my duty as a doctor to give advice to a patient. The afternoon dragged on and finally she heard the door open. She looked up and saw him walk in. One look at his face told her that William Murdoch was definitively upset with her. She took a long breath in and prepared herself.

William was cool and polite as he asked for the report. "Good day doctor. It is quite late. Do you have a report for me?" So that's how it's going to be thought Julia. Well I can also be cool and distant. Soon they were done and William turned to leave. But at the last second, he stopped and said:

"Oh yes Doctor, one last thing. I ask you in the future to stay out of my private life."

Julia hesitated for a second. William had definitely thrown a gauntlet. She knew it was wiser not to pick it up, but Julia Ogden did not feel wise today.

"Detective. Pray, do tell me, how did I interfere in your life?" Julia could see the anger mounting in William's eyes, but he kept himself under control. He continued:

"Certain discussions should only be had between man and wife. You had no business talking to Lisa as you did. She is my fiancée."

Julia felt her own anger mounting, but stayed calm: "Undoubtedly Detective. Lisa may be your fiancée, but she is also a person. She has a right to make decisions on her future. Secondly Detective, I should not have to remind you that that certain discussions should remain between a doctor and her patient. Lisa sought advice from me as both a woman and a doctor and I hope also a friend. I do not have to answer to you about it."

William was undeterred: "She has a doctor already."

Julia was as equally stubborn: "Old Dr. Ross is a fat old man who has no clue the choices women are forced to make. I would hope Detective that you would agree that I am much better positioned to give out advice than he is."

William was about to say something, but decided against it. Instead, he ended their conversation with a curt: "Nevertheless Doctor, I have asked Lisa that in the future, she is to refrain from consulting with you on such matters." William turned and started walking to the door.

His last sentence had shook Julia. He was effectively saying it that he did not trust her to give sound advice. She knew of course that he upheld the strong beliefs his faith imposed on such matters. She just had never thought that these would one day be directed at her. It hurt. It hurt so much that she forgot herself and said to him:

"Is it really the advice you object to William or is it me? Would you have been this angry had old Dr. Ross been the messenger?"

She had not even finished her sentence that Julia already regretted it. By saying it, she had brought to the surface the growing attraction between them. The attraction they had both ignored for months.

William stopped for a second. He did not even bother to turn and look at her before he continued walking and left the morgue.


	3. Chapter 3

As usual George just barged into the morgue and walked quickly over to Julia who was just bent over her slab closing up her latest "patient".

"You're needed Doctor. There's been a murder. Detective Murdoch is waiting

for you in the carriage."

Julia grabbed her bag and made her way outside to the carriage. This was new of the last couple of months; riding with William in the carriage to crime scenes. For the longest time, he had avoided being alone with her, preferring to use his bicycle rather than sharing a space with her. Julia did not really know if it was the cold and the snow which had convinced him, or if he had really changed his mind towards her. Their first few rides alone together had been silent uncomfortable experiences, but slowly, gradually their relationship had improved. They were now somewhere between the close friendly companionship of last summer and the strict distance of work colleagues. Julia knew it was better this way. They had become much too close last summer, dangerously close.

He was waiting for her by the carriage. He opened the door for her and helped her in, and then settled himself in. They rode in silence for a while. Julia could tell he was preoccupied. Finally he spoke:

"Doctor." He stopped and started again. "Julia…" Julia looked up quickly. He had not called her Julia in a long time. He continued:

"I wonder if you could look in on Lisa. She has been sick for many weeks now and…" William paused again.

"…she is not getting better. If anything she is worse. Dr. Ross has been treating her, but I wonder if you could..?" He ended his sentence in a question.

Julia's heart broke for William. She knew of course that Lisa was sick. She had even gone and visited her a few times. Without thinking, she took William's hand and squeezed it. She quickly realized it and took her hand away before continuing:

"William. Dr. Ross is a competent doctor, an excellent doctor in fact." It was Julia's turn to hesitate. "My objections to him last summer had to do with his age and gender, not his competency."

William turned to her. "I know. I know that now Doctor., but then I had.." He did not finish his sentence. He did not need to. Julia knew what he meant. They had grown too close for colleagues. They had needed distance. He continued: "Nevertheless, if you would not mind, I would feel better if you could give me your opinion."

Julia smiled back her agreement: "Of course William. I was planning on dropping in to see Lisa anyway. I have not seen her in nearly a month."

They rode in silence for a few more minutes. Soon they arrived and both were busy dealing with the work at hand.

It was a cold dark winter morning as Julia stood with a small crowd watching Lisa being put to rest in the small catholic cemetery. She was attending the funeral along with a few constables and Inspector Brackenried. Her thoughts drifted back to the visit she had had with Lisa a few days after William had asked her to see her. She had known the moment she had seen Lisa that her condition was not good. She had spent a couple of hours chatting with Lisa before leaving her. She had dreaded seeing William the next day, knowing he would come in and ask about Lisa. He had finally come over in late afternoon…..

"You saw Lisa yesterday." Said William. It was supposed to be a question, but really it was a statement.

"Yes I did. We spent a two hours chatting. She then became tired and I left her to rest."

William looked at Julia and only said one word: "And?"

Julia took a deep breath and looked William straight in the eyes. "What is Dr. Ross saying?"

"Not much. " William looked at Julia. "Please Julia tell me. I need to know."

"It's not good William. She is not responding to Dr. Ross's treatments. And they are sound William. I would treat her the same way if she were my patient."

William swallowed, nodded, turned and had walked away. Julia would remember that day for a long time.

Lisa had died the following week.


	4. Chapter 4

Toronto the good had lived up to its name for the last several weeks. No murders had been committed in the city which meant that Julia had ample time to catch up on her reading. The first week had been relaxing. She had re-organized her office, moved some of the furniture around and caught up with her correspondence. She had spent the last week reading autopsy reports from colleagues and had finally worked her way down to her pile of unread medical journals. While she had enjoyed the peace of the well behaved city, she had to admit that she was starting to get bored. More importantly, she was missing William. With no active cases, her only contacts with him were short greetings when their paths occasionally crossed.

Julia took a long breath in as her thoughts again drifted to William. It had been over a year ago since his fiancée had died and while William had lost the shattered look he had sported for months, he was quite the William of old. The return of the warm weather had seem to lighten him up though. Of late he had seemed less sombre, more alive. She had even seen him smile a few times; not at her, but nevertheless a smile.

Julia shook her head. She had to get her thoughts away from William. Unfortunately her medical journals did not have enough weight to keep her attention. She looked at her desk. The morning paper was there. The serial she had been reading for the last two months should be in today's copy. The story was a romantic drivel about star crossed lovers. Silly schoolgirl literature she knew, but honestly, a girl was allowed a break from all that science wasn't she? She looked around, the morgue was empty. She started reading. She was totally engrossed in the tale when she heard the morgue door open and close. Without even looking who had entered, she quickly put the paper down and moved her attention to her medical journal. A man cleared his throat. Julia looked up and froze. It was William.

He spoke first: "Good afternoon doctor. How are you today?"

Julia was still trying to get over the shock of him being in her morgue for no apparent reason. Only when he raised an eyebrow did she answer.

"I am well Detective, and you?" She only half heard his answer. She was too caught up in his brown eyes to really hear what he was saying. She shook her head and continued:

"I'm sorry detective. You were saying?"

William had a small smile as he looked towards the door. "A fine day it is. I see that you cycled to work today? You enjoy the sport?"

"Yes Yes I do. The speed, the wind in my hair…" Julia quit talking as she noticed William intensely looking at her. Neither spoke for a few seconds as they looked at each other. William was the first one to break contact. He looked down at her desk and saw the newspaper. He pointed to an advertisement on the page.

"Oh I see that you are interested in alternative current. Will you be attending the demonstration in the park on Sunday then?"

It took a few seconds for Julia to realize was William was talking about. Alternative current? She looked down at the newspaper. The page containing her romantic serial had an advertisement on the corner about a display in park on a new form of electricity. William assumed she had the paper open to that page for the advertisement, not the serial! She quickly improvised.

"Yes, yes. I am quite curious about this new form of electricity." She hesitated for a few seconds before continuing. "This interests you also?"

William did not hesitate before answering. "Yes indeed. Many experts claim that it will replace direct current within the decade. I am quite looking forward to the demonstration." It was then his turn to hesitate. "Are you also planning on attending?"

Julia had never really given any thoughts to electricity before today, but she instantaneously developed an interest for it.

"Yes I am. I have been quite looking forward to this demonstration." Before she even realized the implication of her next sentence, she continued: "I take it you will be in attendance?"

"Yes indeed I am." Answered William. It was his turn to hesitate. "Since we are both planning to be there, perhaps we could attend together?

Even though she knew it was medically impossible, Julia was sure her heart stopped beating for a few seconds. She tried to appear calm as she answered.

"Yes Detective. I think it is an excellent idea."

William smiled and said: "Good. Good. Shall we meet in the park around 11:00 then? I will attend early mass Sunday giving enough time to meet up with you. He smiled as he bided her goodbye. "Good day then Doctor."

Julia smiled to herself as her eyes followed William out of the morgue. It was only a few minutes later that it dawned on her that William had come to the morgue just to see her. That realization made her happier than she cared to admit.


	5. Chapter 5

Julia quickly looked at her watch, past 6 o'clock! Quickly she put her report away and started to get ready. She was going to be late at the Brakenrieds. Margaret had telephoned early in the day. She was concerned about her husband. He had been knifed just a few short days ago by Dr. Berkins. The previous day, he had discharged himself early from the hospital. Instead of immediately going home, the fool had gone to work at Station Four to work. He had come home weak and feverish.

Julia would have gone to the Brackenrieds anyway, but today she had to be honest with herself, she had her own agenda. William had applied to be a Station Inspector earlier in the week. Julia wanted to know if he had secured the position. While she should be happy that his career was advancing, she really did not want him to win the job. If William were to leave Station Four to become Inspector at another station house, she would hardly see him.

She had been so happy a few weeks ago when he had asked her to the electricity demonstration in the park. He had even surprised her with a picnic basket. Liza had been dead for over a year now and Julia had patiently waited for William to wake up and realize that she, Julia, was there. From what had happened between the two of them the first summer she had started working at the morgue, Julia knew that William was not immune to her. And now, he was considering leaving the morgue, just when he had finally started to notice her again.

Julia arrived at the Brackenried's brownstone and knocked. Margaret opened the door:

"Julia. Come in. Thank you so very much for agreeing to have a look at Thomas. He has been adamant that he has seen enough of doctors and is fine, but I worry. You know?" Julia knew. She worried about William constantly; dealing with criminals all the time like he does.

"Come through to the drawing room. Thomas is reading the evening paper and having his pre-dinner scotch." Julia walked into the room and was greeted by the restful scene of Thomas reading his newspaper on the settee while his boys were playing on the floor with tin soldiers. Thomas made a gesture to get up, but Julia waved him back down.

"Stay sat Sir. Your side must hurt a lot still."

Margaret spoke up: Well, excuse me for a few minutes. I have to feed the boys and put them to bed. Dinner should be ready by seven. "

Margaret quickly exited the room with the boys leaving Julia alone with Thomas. Thomas spoke first.

"She is not fooling me one second you know Doctor. She invited you over for dinner as an excuse to get you to check up on me. The bloody woman has been pestering me all day to let her call a doctor. I've been saying no, but I see she found a way around that." Thomas ended his sentence with a half smile, taking the edge off his statement. Julia answered immediately.

"Well inspector. She has a right to be worried. You should still be in the hospital. Coming in to work like you did yesterday. That was quite foolish you know. " Julia tried to use her stern doctor tone, but she too ended her sentence with a smile.

"Well Doctor. Let's get this over with so we can start enjoying the evening." Thomas started getting his vest off as he finished his sentence. Julia helped him and then set to work on having a look at Thomas.

"Well Inspector, that is quite a collection of scars you have here. You were in the regiment were you not?" Thomas' eyes glazed over for a few seconds as he got lost in his thoughts. Julia watched him silently and said nothing. Thomas finally answered.

"Yes I was. For a few years. I enjoyed it, but though life it was. Glad I'm done with that and I'm here now though."

Julia finished looking at his wound and looked up to the inspector: "Well Inspector this is healing well, but you should limit your activities. It could re-open should you try to overdo it too soon." Julia looked up to him and continued: "How is the pain."

Thomas went for his drink: "Bloody well hurts a lot still, but I have my own medicine." He took a big gulp as he finished his sentence.

Julia accepted the drink he was pouring for her as she put her medical bag away. Thomas went for his wallet. "How much do I owe you doctor?"

Julia had already started to shake her head even before he had ended his sentence. "Think nothing of it Inspector. Consider this a favour to a colleague. You are feeding me dinner you know." As she finished with a smile

Julia tried to bring the conversation to William's promotion. "So you had the chance to catch up with work yesterday when you spoke with Detective Murdoch?"

Thomas looked at Julia with a twinkle in his eyes. "Yes. Yes. We did. "The inspector went on and on for several minutes about on-going cases. Julia could not contain herself anymore and finally interrupted the inspector.

"So does that mean that Detective Murdoch will be staying on at Station Four then?" She asked.

Thomas smiled at Julia and was about to answer when the bell at the front door rung. "Well doctor, why don't you ask him yourself? That must be him. I asked him to come over and drop some paperwork for me."

The door to the drawing room opened as Margaret escorted William into the drawing room. Julia nervously put her glass down and stood up as William walked him. He stopped dead when he saw her.

"Doctor. Ah.. Good evening. How nice to see you here this evening. The inspector asked me to bring over a few files."

Julia nervously answered: "Mrs. Brackenried asked me to have a quick look at the inspector's wound."

They seemed to have forgotten Thomas and Margaret as they spoke to each other. The older couple exchanged a quick smile and Margaret was the first to speak up.

"Well Detective, you must stay for dinner." William started to protest but Margaret would not hear of it. "Both you and Julia are here as a favour to Thomas. The least we can do is feed you dinner."

Julia had never had any intention of refusing dinner. She wanted to find out what William had decided and was determined that she would get it out of him before dinner was over. Margaret was still talking: "Julia would you be so kind as to come give me a hand with dinner. Let's leave William and Thomas to their business.

Margaret and Julia exited the room and made their way to the kitchen. Margaret continued with her dinner preparation and looked at Julia.

"Well Julia. How are you? Thomas says you always work long hours."

"Yes. I do, but I do have a social life also." Answered Julia.

"Well according to the society pages, you are quite a popular young lady. You seem to have quite a collection of escorts."

Julia blushed a little: "That many really? I had not realized."

Margaret smiled at the younger woman. "There is nobody special then?"

Without even realizing she had done it. Julia looked at the door seemingly trying to pierce the walls to the drawing room. Margaret noticed and tenderly put her hand on Julia's arm: "If it helps. Thomas is convinced that William has more than a professional interest in you. "Margaret smiled. "He would have my hide if he knew I was telling you this."

Julia smiled sadly back. "I hope you are right Margaret. But I don't know about William. He is still mourning Liza. How can I compete with a dead fiancée?

"I think he is more advanced in his mourning that he realizes. Have you not noticed how he looks at you?"

Julia looked at Margaret with hope in her eyes: "You think so?"

"I do." Answered Margaret. "Well why don't you go get those two. Without interruptions, they'll be at it all evening."

Soon they were all seated at dinner. Conversation flowed well and Julia was having a wonderful, but frustrating evening. Several times, she had tried to steer the conversation to William's promotion, but had been frustrated by a change a topic and by the time dinner ended she still did not know if William was leaving Station Four. The evening ended at around ten o'clock and Julia was still in the dark. Both William and Julia were getting ready to leave when Margaret spoke up:

"You will escort Julia home will you William?"

Julia started to shake her head negatively when Thomas spoke up: "Of course he will, won't you Murdoch?"

William, ever the gentlemen, of course agreed to escort Julia. They elected to walk as it was a wonderful summer evening. He offered her his arm and she gladly took it. After a frustrated evening at trying to find out if William was leaving, Julia was determined to find her answer. Since gentle hints had failed all evening long, she elected for the direct approach.

"So William, I have not heard yet. Have you decided to leave Station Four?" It seemed like it took an eternity for William to answer, but finally he did:

"No. I have elected to stay."

Julia tried to remain poised, but could not stop the happy smile that came to her face.

"I am happy you are not leaving William. You would have been missed."

He smiled back. It had been a good evening and Julia was happy.


	6. Chapter 6

Julia looked at the countryside as the train made its way to Montreal. She had decided to take a short holiday to the city. Jeremy had telegraphed her saying he was in town for a fortnight raising funds for his next expedition and had invited her over. At first, she had declined, but the clairvoyant case had changed her mind. Her thoughts drifted back to her last conversation with William before she left…..

"What if it is possible? What if there is a second plane?" had asked William.

Julia had felt her heart break. Just when she thought that William was finally starting to get over Liza's death, a case like this came along; a case that brought everything back to the surface. She had been so happy when he had come over before with that silly probe contraption. He had been so shy, so embarrassed and so sweet.

Now, Julia had only been able to answer with the simple truth:

"You want to talk to her don't you?"

William had not needed to answer. Julia had seen the naked need in his face.

That is what had decided Julia to leave town. She had needed to get away, to have some fun, and if there was one thing Jeremy could be counted on… was fun. The train slowed as it got into Union Station in Montreal. Julia spied Jeremy standing on the platform. He smiled as he spotted her:

"I'm so glad you changed you mind and came Julia. Montreal will be much better with you."

Julia smiled back her answer: "And I am ready to enjoy myself Jeremy."

Jeremy was a bit startled by her determined answer. All doubts were erased later on in the evening as he watched Julia openly flirt with a young man. She had been drinking all evening and was now sitting much to close to him. Jeremy had seen enough. He put his cards down, excused himself from the card table and walked over to Julia:

"Come on Julia. It's time we left." Said Jeremy as he gently tried to pry her away.

Julia shook his hand away. "I want to stay Jeremy."

The younger man looked at Jeremy: "Yes Jeremy. She wants to say, so go away."

Jeremy smiled at the young punk. He had been like that once too. To be honest there were still times when he was like that, but not tonight. Tonight he was going to bring Julia safely at her hotel. He leaned over a second time: "Come on Julia. Let's go."

The other man tried to shove Jeremy away, but he was no match for the older and much sober Jeremy. They left the gambling house and Jeremy helped Julia into a carriage. Julia started complaining immediately:

"Why did you take me away Jeremy? I was having so much fun."

Jeremy smiled ruefully back: "Too much fun I think Julia. You need to go to bed."

Julia settled herself right beside Jeremy: "I totally agree Jeremy. Bed is a good idea."

Jeremy looked at Julia cuddling up to him. Yes Julia was going to be difficult to handle tonight. They arrived at their hotel and Jeremy escorted Julia to her room.

"You"ll stay won't you?" she asked.

"Only long enough to get you safely into bed." He answered. Julia made a pout. "Are you sure you want to leave? Remember you and I ….. "

Jeremy interrupted her: "You'll thank me in the morning." Fortunately for him, Julia had imbibed so much that he was easily able to put her to bed. She immediately felt asleep. Jeremy looked tenderly at her as she lay sleeping and left.

Julia had a pounding headache, but it was the least of her worries right now. She had to face Jeremy at breakfast and was not quite sure how she was going to do that. She made her way to the breakfast room. Jeremy had already finished eating and was reading the newspaper. She quietly sat down beside him and only ordered tea. Jeremy put his paper down and called to the departing waiter:

"Bring a big jug of water also."

Julia put a hand to her temple: "Must you shout Jeremy."

Jeremy smiled at the obviously hung over Julia: "I'm hardly shouting Julia. Have your tea, drink water and we'll go for a walk."

Some time later, they stepped outside. Julia groaned as the bright sunshine hit her eyes. They said nothing as they walked and finally Julia spoke up: "Thank you Jeremy."

He looked down at her: "Well I owed you one." He stopped and continued: "To be honest I owe you several, so maybe we are closer to being even." He paused before taking a more serious tone:

"You were acting quite self-destructive last night Julia. It's not you." He looked at her before continuing: "It's that detective isn't it?"

For a second Julia thought of denying it, but truthfully she needed a friend to confide in.

"Yes. It's William." She answered.

"In your last letter you wrote that he was finally starting to get over the death of his fiancée. It is no longer so?" he asked.

Julia took a long breath: "I thought so, but then last week, we had a case and…" She did not finish. She did not need too. Jeremy had understood. He put his arm around her shoulder and hugged her.

"I'm sorry Julia. I know how you feel about him. Maybe he needs more time?"

Julia smiled back sadly at him: "Yes perhaps. Time… or maybe he never will…maybe I'm just fooling myself. " She shook her head and changed the subject. She looked up to him a bit embarrassed.

"I remember enough of last night Jeremy to know that I made a fool of myself with you."

"Oh Julia." Jeremy answered back. "You would never make a fool of yourself, not with me anyway. And to be honest, there was a big part of me that wanted to take you up on your offer last night." He smiled as he continued: "I remember how good it used to be between us. But that is the thing isn't it? It would not have been between us. It was not me you wanted in your bed last night wasn't it?"

Julia quietly answered: "No. I'm sorry Jeremy. I was….."

Jeremy took pity on her. "It's all right Julia. You do not have to say more I understand. You know Julia, of all the women I've met…." He could not finish as Julia interrupted him:

"and there has been many." The smile on her face took the edge off her remark. Jeremy continued:

"Yes. Yes indeed, many. But most of them were …" he could not find the correct word. Julia helped him:

"needy perhaps?"

"Yes, needy is as good as word I guess. But you Julia, you are your own woman. You have a career. You would not depend on your husband for everything…." He stopped talking and looked down at her.

Julia took a long serious look at Jeremy.

"Oh Jeremy. Please stop. If circumstances were different. If I were.."

Jeremy finished the sentence for her : "not in love with William Murdoch."

"Yes. Quite so yes." Answered Julia. She looked up to him:

"He's quite a remarkable man Jeremy. He never went to university, yet no matter what we discuss, he is always more learned than I. He uses new forensic techniques and tinkers and invents things….." Julia stooped as she realized she was babbling. Jeremy smiled at her.

Julia squeezed his arm as they continued walking. "Thank you Jeremy. Thank you for being you. For being there. Now, let's go hike up Mont Royal. You will find the view of the city quite remarkable from there."

William was standing at his window. He was not sure why really. He was waiting for nothing, or no one….. Then he saw her. She was cycling to work. She had been gone a week, had left without notice. Her assistant had said something about visiting an old friend in Montreal. Without thinking, he started to walk over to the morgue. She was taking off her hat as he walked in.

"Good morning Doctor. You had a pleasant holiday I hope? Julia turned around at the sound of his voice.

"Yes. Yes I did Detective. Anything exciting happened while I was gone?

William answered negatively and could not stop himself. He had to know more.

"You went alone then?" William asked.

"Yes I did, but I met an old friend there. But of course you know him. You met him last year. Jeremy Bellows." Answered Julia

William immediately stiffened up. He had never figured out why, but he had not liked the fellow. Had resented his past relationship with Julia, the easy familiarity he had with her. And now he finds out that she had dropped everything to go spend a week with him in Montreal. Before he could stop himself:

"You stayed with friends then?"

Julia stiffened. Who did he think he was for asking her such a thing? Before she could think.

"No Detective. Jeremy and I stayed in a hotel." She answered him; purposely leaving him with the wrong impression. Julia turned around and walked to her office.

"Now Detective if you do not mind. I have a lot of work to catch up with. I have been away for week you know."

William slowly put his hat on and left the morgue. Julia watched him leave, already regretting her impulsive answer. Will she ever learn…


	7. Chapter 7

"May I have my lung water?" asked William.

Julia gave him the vial and quickly turned around. She busied herself putting her equipment away; keeping her back to William; trying to hide her flushed face. A few seconds later she heard the morgue door close. Only then did she turn around. Suddenly her embarrassment turned to anger.

"Blasted, bloody frustrating man." She muttered as she threw her towel across the room. She'd cancelled on an outing with her friends when he had asked her to perform the additional analysis. Then she had lied about it! She had no social life because she kept cancelling on the faint hope that he would act. He never did. Not for lack of interest she had decided a few weeks ago. She was no blushing virgin. She knew when a man was interested in her and William Murdoch definitively was. He just seemed to refuse to do anything about it. Any doubts she had, had been dismissed earlier during the testing of his latest invention. That bubble had risen pretty darn high when Henry had hijacked the questioning and asked if William was in love. Julia ruefully smiled to herself. She was glad it had not been her strapped to that chair. She would have sent that liquid flying across the room.

Her smile disappeared as her thoughts drifted to Isaac. She should have known that William would dig around her relationship with the doctor. Put on the spot like that, it had seemed safer to let William think that Isaac and her had been lovers; much safer than the truth. She took in a long breath and looked at the clock, 9 o'clock. If she hurried, she could join her friends for dinner.

Julia was going over some old reports when William walked into her office. Her hand immediately went up to her hair to smooth it down. She straightened out in her chair and waited for William to walk over.

"Good afternoon Julia." Greeted William. Julia could not hide a small smile. She liked it when he dropped his usual formal "Doctor" for her given name. She knew he only allowed himself to do it when they were alone which made it even more special.

She smiled up to him: "Hello William. You have the case all wrapped up?"

"Yes. Yes I do." Responded William. He paused before continuing. "As a matter of fact, Minerva Fairchild asked to meet. I imagine she wants to know what will happen with Mr. Briggs. I fear the worst for him. Since you know her, I was wondering if …"

Julia finished the sentence for him: "I could accompany you. I'd be happy too."

William smiled his thanks back. "I have a carriage waiting for us."

William and Julia were making their way inside the club restaurant. Julia had suggested coffee and while he did not like the stuff, he did want to spend time with her so he had agreed. They walked in and the Maitre d' was just about to say something about William when Julia caught his eye. He quickly changed his mind and greeted the couple.

"Detective. Miss Ogden. Will you want to sit inside or outside?"

William looked at Julia. "It's a beautiful day Doctor. What do you say to outside?"

Julia agreed: "Yes indeed Detective, outside would be wonderful." She turned to the Maitre d'. "Would the corner table be available Owens? The view of the lake is so beautiful from there."

The table did indeed offer a nice view of the lake, but it was the privacy it provided that Julia craved. They sat down. William was the first to speak.

"This is quite peaceful here Julia. I' m surprised you do not come here more often."

Julia smiled as she answered: "Yes. Indeed it is. It's more the members William. I'm accepted because of my family, but it does not stop people from judging me."

"Judging you?" inquired William.

"I'm a bit of a pariah here William. I'm a woman over thirty, unmarried, working and living on my own. The wives are afraid I will go after their husbands and the mothers keep their daughters away, fearing I will convert them to my "modern" ways. Even the branch of doctoring I chose does not sit well with them. They would grudgingly accept me dispensing medicine to rich old ladies, but opening up dead bodies is definitely not a proper occupation for a woman.

"Well they have no idea what they are missing out then.' Answered William.

Julia smiled back. "Thank you William. Thank you for that. "

A waiter arrived with the coffee and despite all his best effort; William could not hide his distaste of the beverage. Julia succumbed to the pleasure of teasing him. "Quite good the coffee here, don't you think William?" She asked him innocently.

William tried to lie, but he hardly had a word out than Julia had started laughing. "Oh William remind me never to pick you as a bridge partner. You are quite inept at hiding your feelings you know."

He nervously put his cup down. Inept at hiding his feeling? Was she talking about the coffee or something else? Suddenly William needed to move.

"What do you say to a walk around the lake Julia?"

She readily agreed and they left the restaurant. Julia had decided to take control of the situation and was leading him towards a quiet area of the park. After several minutes they arrived at a gazebo where they sat down. William seemed lost in his thoughts. Julia noticed and finally she could not stand it any longer: "You seem a million miles away William?"

He turned around and looked at her. "I was just thinking of Minerva Fairchild and Horace Briggs. How tragic their story is. "

He paused and seemed hesitant to continue. Julia had to prompt him: "and ….?"

"They should have known that their love affair was doomed. They came from different world, a gardener and a woman from a rich family. It was bound for failure."

Julia swallowed hard and took a few seconds to respond: "What do you say then William? That they should have walked away from each other. Not even try to make it work?"

His eyes had grown serious and he was now looking at her directly. His voice lowered as he continued.

"A man is dead. The other will probably hang. How can love be worth this?"

Julia maintained the eye contact as she answered: "How were they to know it would end like this William?" You are also forgetting the choice Horace made. He killed Richard Hartley. Murder can never be justified. You can't blame love for his lack of humanity."

Julia paused and her voice lowered as she continued: "Not all love stories need end that way William. We all have the capacity to judge, to choose. Just because he made the wrong choice does not mean that …" Julia lowered her eyes. She did not finish her sentence. She had brought the conversation back to them but she lacked the courage to voice the final connection.

"But the odds were against them from the start." He responded.

"So no attempts should be made then?" She challenged him. "How much chance did you give me William when you first heard that the new coroner was a woman?"

William blushed. How did she know that he had expected her to fail.

"Not much." He answered.

"Yet, here I am." Whispered Julia. She started to slowly move closer to him.

"Yes. Here you are. " Answered William. Mesmerized by her eyes, he watched her getting closer to him. He started leaning in.

"I told you Miriam it was Julia." The voice was loud and strident. Julia did not know if the "blasted" she uttered was in her mind or if she actually said it. She quickly distanced herself from William and stood up.

Julia greeted the two women: "Rose. Miriam. How nice to see you both." William politely stood as Julia introduced him. She waited, hoping the two women would leave. They seemed oblivious to her silent message as Rose continued blabbing about common acquaintances. Julia was only half listening, keeping an eye on William. During a pause in the conversation, he spoke up.

"Well ladies. It was a pleasure, but I must go." Julia tried her hide her disappointment.

"I shall see you tomorrow then?" she asked. He nodded an agreement and left. Julia watched him walk away, only turning after he disappeared from site.


	8. Chapter 8

Julia tried to ignore the obnoxious noise of the bell by burrowing deeper in her pillow. Maybe it would go away? No such luck. The noise did stop, but only because her maid answered the telephone. Why did murderers always have to commit crimes at night? When she had accepted the position of coroner, she had hoped to avoid the middle of the night calls live "patients" demanded. Unfortunately murderers also kept odd hours, and her sleep was often interrupted. Julia heard her maid's footsteps coming closer and finally a knock on her door.

"Miss Ogden. Dr. Tash is on the telephone asking for you."

Isaac? Why would Isaac be calling her at such a time of night? She put her housecoat on and quickly went downstairs and picked up the telephone.

"Isaac. Is everything all right?"

"Julia. I was at the General tonight delivering a baby when I saw Detective Murdoch being brought in."

Julia froze. Her chest tightened and she swallowed a few times before she could find her voice.

"How bad is it Isaac?" she asked.

There was silence on the line as Isaac tried to find the right words. "He has an arrow sticking out from his chest. I think it is very serious Julia. Dr. Mitchell was called in."

The news confirmed Julia's worst fears. Dr. Mitchell was the best surgeon in Toronto. If he was called in, it is because it was serious. She quickly made her decision.

"I'll be there presently Isaac." Julia was about to hang up when she thought of asking: "Who brought him in?"

"A woman who identified herself as Miss Pensell." Answered Isaac.

Julia was not happy to hear the name. She had never met the medium but had developed an irrational dislike of the woman for her role in convincing William that Liza had somehow communicated with him. William had seemed to finally be getting over Liza's death when he had met Miss Pensell. The encounter had left him shaken and drawn back into himself; back mourning heavily for his dead fiancée. She got dressed and called for a cab. The ride took forever as she spent most of it imagining scenarios that progressively got worse. It had barely stopped in front of the hospital, when Julia jumped out, and ran up the stairs of the imposing building. She made her way inside, directly to the head matron's office, walking past a woman sat quietly on a bench.

"Matron. A police detective was brought in a short while ago. Can you tell me where he is?"

"He is in surgery Dr. Ogden." Answered the woman.

Julia decided that a suitably authoritive tone should get her access to the operating theatre. She was just about to ask for a gown to cover her dress when she saw Dr. Mitchell walk out of the operating room. Julia was shocked to see the amount of blood on his gown. She went quickly to him and arrived at the same time as the woman who had been sitting alone on the bench.

"How is he Doctor?" asked both women at the same time. They looked at each other, a bit unsure on how to proceed. Dr. Mitchell took over as he wondered why this lowly police officer could drag two beautiful women out of their bed in the middle of the night. He then wrongly assumed that the coroner must be the detective's doctor and the other woman his lady friend. He ignored Sarah and turned to Julia.

"I assume that you tend to the Detective Doctor?" He did not wait for an answer as he went to describe the extent of William's injuries. "While the arrow missed the heart, it did puncture one of his lungs. I have done all that I can, but as usual in such cases, infection is of great concern." He continued on for a while longer giving a detailed description of the operation and possible complications. Finally he concluded: "Dr. Ogden, as the detective's doctor, I imagine you'll want to take over his care now?"

Julia had half expected the request. While Dr. Mitchell was a brilliant surgeon, he had no patience for post operative care. He liked his patients anesthetised, and under his knife. Even though she was not William's doctor, Julia gladly accepted the responsibility.

"I'll let you decide how many visitors the patient should have then Doctor." With that statement, Dr. Mitchell pointed with his head to Sarah. He then turned, leaving Julia alone with Sarah Pensell.

Julia turned to her: "Miss Pensell, I presume?" Sarah nodded yes and immediately asked if she could see William. Julia's instincts screamed no, but reason took over: "Of course you may Miss Pensell, but only for a few short minutes."

The two women walked inside the common room where William was sleeping. Julia froze as she saw Sarah Pensell quickly walk, no nearly run down the room to William's bed where she immediately took his hand in hers.

Trying to hide the strong feelings the gesture had on her, Julia busied herself with reading William's chart. She looked up and Sarah had not moved an inch. She was still sat there, holding William's hand. Julia could not stand it any longer. She had to touch him. She made a pretence of examining William, but betrayed herself with each check. Her hand lightly caressed his wrist when she took his pulse making her loose count. She lingered a few seconds too many when she put her hand on his brow to check for fever. Finally, out of excuses to touch him, she turned to Sarah: "Miss Pensell. You may stay a few more minutes, but I'm afraid you will have to go after that. Detective Murdoch needs to rest now. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to talk to the matron."

Sarah Pensell watched Julia leave. She did not need her medium's abilities to see that the young doctor had more than a professional interest in the detective. If she performed all her medical examinations that way, she would be the most popular doctor amongst the Toronto male population. With a sad smile, she turned her attention back at William, knowing her time with him was limited.

In the meantime Julia had walked over to the matron's office: "Matron, when it is convenient, please move Detective Murdoch to a private room. I will take care of the fee"

She then turned and left, but just before she left the matron's office, she stopped and turned back. She hesitated, trying to find the best way to voice her request.

"Matron, should anyone ask, please inform them the constabulary is paying for the room."

The matron, too professional to outwardly question a doctor, agreed to Julia's request. Julia made her way back to the ward bidding Sarah Pensell goodbye as the two women crossed in the hallway. Julia sat down on chair by William's bed and prepared herself for a long night.

The night had indeed been long, and as it progressed, Julia had become more and more concerned about William. As she had feared, an infection had developed and he was now burning hot with fever. At least now, William could rest peacefully. The Matron had efficiently arranged the move. She took a cloth and wiped William's face. Her hand lingered and she slowly ran it down his cheek, then up to forehead. Sometimes she wished she was religious. In times, such as this, maybe she could find comfort in prayers? If she were to loose him now…. Tears came to her eyes.

Thomas Brackenried was making his way to William's room. Blasted Murdoch. What was he thinking, running out to the institution alone like that? No wonder he was injured. He should know by now never to confront a criminal by himself. He turned around the corner and the scene he saw in William's room stopped him dead in his tracts. The young coroner was sitting in a chair beside the bed. She was clasping one of Murdoch's hand in hers, and tears were coming down her cheeks. While Thomas Brackenried could never be mistaken for a romantic poet, he could recognize a moment when he saw one. He backed away by several feet, waited about five minutes and noisily traveled again the last few feet to detective's room.

Julia heard someone come in. She quickly wiped her tears and sat up straight in her chair, trying to erase all signs of her distress. She turned to see Thomas Brackenried walk in. She greeted him: "Good morning Inspector."

"Doctor." Answered Thomas back. He walked closer to the bed and looked at William.

"How is he doing?"

Julia could not hide the concern in her voice. "The operation went well, but he developed an infection during the night. There is so little we can do in such case other than trying to limit the fever by keeping the patient cool."

Brackenreid nodded his understanding. He then looked around the room. "The matron tells me I am paying for this private room."

Julia blushed as she tried to justify her decision: "He can only heal if he can rest Inspector. A busy ward does not lend itself to that. Have no fear; the constabulary will not have to pay. Arrangements have been made."

Thomas Brackenried choose not to question. She was worried about William that much was evident. If the doctor was worried, so was he. Now was not the time. He stayed a few minutes longer before leaving.

..

Julia was making her way to the hospital. William had been injured a week ago and finally his condition had improved. The fever had had its grip on him for two days, but thankfully had started to ebb on the third day. Her frequent visits had provided them ample time for discussions; and like usual, William seemed unable to let work completely disappear, often choosing to discuss cases over other matters. Just the previous day, Julia had found him deep in thoughts as she had walked into his room. He looked up and smiled at her as she came over.

Julia picked up William's chart and was slowly perusing it when she asked: "What were you thinking so deeply about there William? You looked like you had the weight of the world on your shoulders"

William was silent for a few seconds before asking: "Do you believe in fate Julia?"

Julia looked up from the chart. "A weighty subject William for so early in the day. What brings this on?"

William hesitated. Even though the two women had never met, he somehow sensed that Julia did not like Sarah Pensell. He decided to continue.

"Sarah Pensell had come to me several days before I was injured. She'd said she had seen a vision of me dying. While I did not die, I came very close to it. Did I cheat fate that night?"

Julia put the chart down and came to sit by William. It gave her a moment to gather her thoughts. By all accounts Sarah Pensell was a good woman. The antipathy she felt towards her had all to do with jealousy. The sensible Julia knew she had to give the woman some credit. Unfortunately, sensible Julia was often absent when it came to William. Nevertheless, she tried: "Perhaps. Or perhaps not. Fate, destiny, those are words used to describe our future. The environment in which we are born does pre-destine our lives in many ways, but it does not limit it. While it is highly unlikely that the son of an alcoholic father who lost his mother at a young age would grow up to be the most learned person I know, it happened." Julia had voiced her last sentence with gentleness, hoping he would see the admiration she had for him. "You can discourse intelligently on the most obscure of subject. Surely you were not destined for such, with your background and yet, here you are. I think it is irresponsible to think that we are powerless in the shaping of our lives, that an invisible hand has control over us. With enough determination, we can achieve anything. We can overcome our destiny."

Julia had been silent for several seconds when William realized he had been staring. After a moment they both awkwardly looked away. He lightened the mood by moving the conversation to hospital food…

..

Julia was already late for her afternoon visit with William. She made her way to the hospital, and then his room, only to find him standing by a basin, trying to wash himself. His injuries limited his movements, making him very awkward at the job. Julia went over to him and took the cloth from his hand:

"Oh William. Here, please, let me."

William smiled his welcome. "Doctor. I am perfectly able to clean myself. I am not a child."

Julia smiled as she put the cloth back in the basin. "Maybe not William, but you are not much better then a child at it. Look at the mess you have made of your bandages. They"ll need changing now."

William tried again to stop her, but Julia gave him a stern look as she proceeded to take the wet bandage away. While her intentions at first had been strictly professional, it did not take long for Julia to realize that being this close to William was affecting her. Soon her hands were caressing more than washing. She became bolder; allowing her hands to linger longer and longer. William stood still as a statue with his eyes closed. Julia took a clean dry bandage to put back on his wound. Each time she rolled the bandage around his back, she had to come close to him, grazing his chest with her body, her breath sweetly drifting across him. Finally William could stand it no longer. He grabbed Julia's hand with one of his and growled: "Julia. Stop."

The words seem to wake Julia out of her trance. She looked around and realized that anybody could have walked in and caught her. Flustered by that realization, she quickly finished the bandage, her hands shaking as she struggled to pin it tight. Embarrassed at having forgotten herself, she made a quick exit leaving William standing alone in the room. He stared at she left, took a long breath and looked around for his housecoat.

..

Julia looked at herself in the mirror. She had changed dresses three times and she still was not happy with the look. Her maid was patiently waiting by her side, hoping this last outfit would please her mistress. Julia held out a long breath. It was not the outfits, it was her. She had not been back to see William in over a week. She was still so embarrassed at the way she had acted the last time she had seen him that she had not mustered the courage to go again. Isaac had agreed to take over his care, not questioning why he was asked. Julia knew she had to see William, to apologize, to settle things between them.

Sarah and William had had a pleasant visit and as it inevitably seemed to happen each time, William mentioned Julia. Sarah Pensell decided to ask: "What is your relationship with Dr Ogden?"

William smiled as he described Julia, first praising her professional skill. Only when Sarah prompted him did he get more personal.

"And?" asked Sarah

"She's kind. Bold." William paused for a short moment, remembering their last encounter. Bold. Yes, that, she was.

Julia arrived at the hospital park only to see William sitting on a bench with Sarah Pensell. Julia was torn. While she disliked the medium, her presence would prevent William from broaching the subject of their last encounter. She nervously made her way over. William, not knowing that the two women had met before, introduced them. Neither woman revealed their past encounter. Somehow the conversation had turned to Prague and Julia latched on to it, hoping William would take the bait. He did, somehow too easily. He probably wanted to forget their last meeting as much as she did. Sarah got up to leave and Julia could not hide the jealousy she felt when William kissed Sarah's hand. They sat down again.

"You must tell me all about Prague." He said.

"Oh well I had a journal when I was there." Answered Julia.

William quickly responded: "Well. I'd very much like to read it."

Julia could not believe he said that. Was he trying to get his own back for her actions a few days ago?

She could not hide her shock as she responded: "William. Really?" Surely he was not serious.

Undeterred, William would not let go. I was his turn to be bold: "Yes. Really."

Julia was unprepared for his answer. She improvised: "Perhaps some excerpts."

He started laughing at her last words and she joined in. Maybe pretending their last meeting never happened was the right way to go?


	9. Chapter 9

Julia was looking out the window of the cab as she rode to the dancing academy. She arrived, made her way inside and saw William conversing with Professor Otranto. The professor said something and William turned to her. She awkwardly made her way over. William extended his hand and led her to the dance floor.

"I must say Julia. I am surprised to see you here tonight."

"Well. I just thought that tonight, more than any other night; I would very much like to be held."

His arms tightened, bringing her close to him. She let herself melt into him, even resting her head on his. Professor Otranto, watching from the corner of the room, noticed their lack of style, but wisely decided not to intervene. He walked over to his assistant:

"Catarina. Tonight we will work on waltzes only." He paused then gestured to William and Julia. "That couple over there, just let them be for tonight."

….

William was escorting Julia home. She had asked to walk, wanting to stretch out her time with him as much as possible. The peace she had found dancing in his arms was rapidly disappearing as they neared her house. Julia pulled out her key and her hand shook as she tried to open the door. Without saying a word, William took the key from her hand and unlocked it. They walked in and he was surprised to find the house empty.

"You have no staff here tonight Julia?"

She shook her head: "I have only one live-in help and she is away this week visiting her sister." The wind, that had been blowing all night long, caused the house to creak. Julia jumped at the sound and her eyes darted to the stairs. William noticed.

"It's the wind, you know." he said gently.

She lowered her eyes: "I know but…" She looked upstairs again, not really believing that the house was empty. She hesitated, and then turned to him.

"William. Would you like to stay for a while? For a drink perhaps?" Julia silently scolded herself. Why did she say that? She knew he did not drink.

William smiled back not bothering to correct her. "I would be happy to."

Julia led them to the parlour. Well it was supposed to be a parlour, but the large volume of books scattered in shelves around the room, made it more of a library. Julia noticed him looking.

"My house is too small for a formal library." She gestured at the books. "I just have to put them where there is space."

She poured herself a drink, not even bothering to ask him if he wanted one knowing he would refuse. They sat down. Julia said nothing for a moment, keeping her head down. Finally she looked up. Her face betrayed her inner turmoil.

"Do you think he meant it?" she asked

William looked questionably back at her: "Meant what?"

"About wanting to be stopped? Thanking me for killing him?" She choked on the last words. Taking a life, any life, never had she imagined she would be capable of that, and yet she had.

William took her hands in his before answering. "I think he did. I think he wanted to stop the killings, yet he could not stop himself. He even gave me the clue that allowed me to deduct he was Orgill."

Julia steadily held his eyes as she asked: "William. You are a policeman. Have you ever…?" Again she had difficulty voicing the words.

William shook his head. "No. Never."

She gazed down at her drink: "I knew where to stab him you know. I knew that if I managed to hit him in the right place, he would bleed to death in a minute or two. He had no chance. "

She paused and closed her eyes. When she opened them up again, they were full of tears.

"Oh William. I did not even try to save him. I stabbed him, and I just stood there. I just watched him die. I'm meant to save lives, not take them. "

Tears were now flowing liberally down her face. "What does that make me William?" she asked.

William took her in his arms and held her as she cried. Finally she lifted her head off his shoulder and looked at him; her eyes questioning him. William tried to answer.

"Could you have saved him?" He asked. She shook her head negatively. He continued.

"You reacted normally Julia. Your life was threatened. Have no doubts, had you not stopped him, he would have killed you. You were trying to save your life, the best way you knew how. It was you or him. You chose you. Anybody else would have done the same. " He paused and smiled gently at her. "But most would stop there and think no more of it, but not you. You have compassion. You care. I see the way you look at the victims you do autopsies on. They are more than bodies to you. That makes you a caring person Julia, but not a killer."

He finished his sentence with a gentle smile. Julia tried to smile through her tears.

"Thank you William. Thank you for that."

She rested her head on his shoulder again. After a while, she became more and more aware of the intimacy of the moment and gently broke away from him. She looked around a bit uncomfortably, everywhere but at him. "It's late. I should try to sleep."

William doubted that in her state, she could manage sleep. Not the way she jumped at every creak the house made. He had to speak before he changed his mind, before he lost his nerve. He took one of her hand in his. "How about I stay here tonight?" I make sure the house is secure?"

Julia immediately tried to say no: "Oh William. I can't impose like that."

William did not let her finish. "It's no imposition, I assure you."

The truth be known, Julia did not want to be alone. She was tired of being strong. Being strong, her way to survive in this world of men, was not something she felt capable of tonight. For the second time that night, she allowed herself be weak: "Fine William, but at least, let me prepare a room for you."

William would have none of it. "I am here to guard you Julia. Not to sleep. I was a constable for many years remember? I am used to pulling double shifts." He looked around at the books. "I shall enjoy exploring your library."

She still had doubts: "Are you sure?"

William reassured her again and went to check the house. It was not needed. Orgill was dead, but she needed the comfort the search would bring. He diligently went through the whole house room by room ending with her bedroom. He opened the door to the room and stopped. The large number of bodices, bloomers, and all other kinds of female undergarment scattered all over the floor of the room, confirmed that this was indeed Julia's bedroom. He heard Julia come up behind him. He turned around catching her in a full blush.

"With Lilly gone, I have to fend for myself and I'm afraid that I am a hopeless housekeeper." She said.

William could not resist teasing her a little bit: "Yes. I noticed the kitchen earlier, and now this." He finished the sentence with a gesture of his hand pointing to her messy bedroom.

Julia did not think it was possible to blush even more, but she did.

William looked around the room again. "Well I hope for you she returns before you run out of clean…." It was now his turn to blush as he tried to finish the sentence. "…. out of those types of clothes."

For a few precious seconds, Julia forgot she had killed a man tonight, and enjoyed teasing him back: "Really William. You see naked bodies in my morgue all the time and you are embarrassed at a few pieces of clothing?"

William, happy to see the haunted look leave her face, continued their flirting game: "Well. This is different. These are your.." He purposely paused. " ….undergarments… the items that touch…. your body". His eyes darkened as he finished the sentence.

Julia held his gaze as she nervously swallowed. She had played such games before. She knew how it could end. She had to stop this right here and now. She had no defences tonight. It would take very little for this to get out of hand, and God knows, she would love to loose herself in William. The way their relationship had evolved over the last few months, she knew that eventually, William and her, it was going to happen. She just did not want it to happen tonight, not like this, not when she was so weak, so defenceless. When it happened, she wanted both of them to go into it as equal, with their eyes wide open, with neither of them having an escape door. She purposely ended the game.

"I prepared the room at the end of hall for you should you change your mind."

William saw the change in her. He bid her goodnight and went back downstairs and prepared himself for a long night.

….

William looked at the grand mansion in front of him. He had found Julia's house impressive, but compared to this, her house was a shack. He gathered his courage and went up to knock at the door. A butler answered.

"Detective William Murdoch to see Mr. Ogden please?" William lifted his suit jacket to show his badge.

The butler did not miss a beat: "The service entrance is in the back sir."

William fumed at the insult. He tried another way: "As you wish, but I did want to talk to him about his daughter."

The butler's demeanour immediately changed: "Miss Julia? Yes course. Do come in." He was escorted in the library. He barely had the time to worry about meeting Julia's father when an older tall gentleman walked in, no, barged into the room. William could see the worry in the older man's face.

"Mr. Ogden?"asked William.

"Yes. Of course I am." The older man did not waste any time in pleasantries. Has something happened to Julia? Is she fine?"

"Yes and no sir." At the panicked look on Julia's father's face, William quickly explained.

"Someone attacked her last night. She's unhurt. She fought him off. But in defending herself, she killed him." William paused, allowing Mr. Ogden time to digest the information.

The older man's face turned white. He slowly made his way to a chair and sat down. Finally he looked up: "This happened last night you say." William nodded. "Where is she now?"

"At her house Sir. That is why I am here. It is all over now, but she is alone in her home right now."

Mr. Ogden interrupted him: "Where's Lilly?"

"She is away visiting her sister for a week. William paused. "These events have left Dr. Ogden shaken. The Constabulary provided security last night Sir, but I am afraid it was a temporary measure. Since her life is not threatened, we cannot justify the presence of constables at her house. "

"Mr Ogden shook his head and muttered: "Independent, foolish, stubborn girl. She should have come to me." He looked up to William.

"Well Detective, I know my daughter well enough to know that she will refuse to move back here until her help returns. You assure me she is out of danger?"

William used his most convincing voice: "I am one hundred percent sure Sir. The man who died last night was the killer. Your daughter is in no danger but she just should not be left alone."

Julia's father made his decision: "Then I will send her old Nanny to stay with her. She won't be able to turn her away."

William was pleased with himself. He had achieved his goal of getting some help for Julia without letting any hints of his growing relationship with her slip out. He hadn't counted on Mr. Ogden's discerning eyes. These eyes, so much like his daughter's, were now actively probing William.

"So tell me Detective. Who stayed with my daughter last night?"

William swallowed twice before he could answer. He felt like a shallow youth not the mature successful detective he was.

"I did Sir."

Julia's father purposely waited a few seconds before continuing with an enigmatic: "I see."

William, now anxious to terminate the interview, picked up his hat and walked over to the older man extending his hand.

"If that is all Sir?"

Mr. Ogden looked William directly in the eyes and shook William's hand in a strong grip: "I think we are done here Detective…. for now."

William swallowed again at the "for now" phrase. He realized he had been holding his breath only after he stepped out of the house. William smiled. Now he knew where Julia had gotten her steely determination. There was much of her father in her.

….

It was Julia's first day back at work after her ordeal. She felt much much better. Spending time with Nanny had helped a lot. She went over to the Station House and directly to William's office. He looked up as she walked in and smiled when he realized it was her.

"William. Do you have a moment?" In private?"

"Yes of course. Come in Julia." He walked behind her and closed the door. She walked over to his work table and leaned against it. He came to stand beside her.

"I wanted to thank you William. For staying with me that night."

"Oh Julia. You know I was happy to be of help."

Julia lifted her eyebrow. "Perhaps too much help? You talked to my father?"

Those eyes again. Yes, she had definitively inherited that piercing look from her father.

"Yes I did. I don't regret it. It was not right for you to be alone. "

Julia was not angry: "The younger me would have objected at my father's and your paternalistic attitude. But the Julia of today realizes that sometimes you have to accept help. So thank you William." She put one of her hand on his as she finished her sentence.

William was glad she had not taken offence to his meddling: "You know that there was nowhere else I wanted to be that night don't you?"

"Really?" she asked. "Yes. Really." He echoed back.

It was not the first time Julia wished that William's office was not so full of windows. Conscious they were visible to the constables on the other side of the wall, she could only exert a bit more pressure on his hand. "You were not too bored then? "

A teasing glint came to William's eyes: "No. I kept myself occupied by exploring your books. I especially enjoyed your collection of Greek classics."

Julie blushed. He had found her banned books. They were bound as classic Greek literature to trick the border censors. She too could tease. She took a step closer to him.

"What shall you do Detective? Arrest me? Or perhaps you will seize my books?" One more step. "If you do, I do have a few suggestions." Her voice had lowered by an octave. "Have you ever heard of the book "Tess of d'Uber….."

William was completely mesmerized by her eyes. It took him a few seconds to register that George had knocked on the door and entered: "I'm sorry Doctor, Detective, but there's been a murder. You're both needed."


	10. Chapter 10

William looked at Julia. They had been playing verbal chess all evening and William had never enjoyed himself as much as he had tonight. He had a momentarily twinge of guilt as he thought of Liza, but Julia's question quickly distracted him:

'Shall we William?" Julia was pointing to the small dance floor located in the corner of the intimate Italian restaurant she had brought him to. He lifted an eyebrow as he looked over at the dance floor already filled with several couples.

"I doubt we shall be able to practice our newfound skills on such a small space Julia."

She coyly looked at him: "Perhaps we can…" She paused for a second. "….improvise William?"

William swallowed, got up and extended a hand. She took it as he guided her to dance floor. The crowded space forced them to dance much closer than normal. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted another couple coming their way. He applied pressure on her back to steer them clear of a collision. Julia allowed herself to be led, their bodies touching as he guided them. William was glad he has mustered the courage to ask her to dinner…..

….

William put the finishing touch on the Houdini case report. He was happy the young magician had turned out to be innocent. He had liked the young man from the start and had not shared his Inspector's belief of his guilt.

As he had worked on his report, he had kept glancing at the brown folder sitting on the corner of his desk. He knew it was wrong, but he had not been able to stop himself from requesting the file. He leaned over, picked it up and started reading it. A smile came on his lips.

William walked outside Station Four. He noticed a light was still on at the morgue. He hesitated for only a second before walking over.

"….might you discuss it with me? Over diner?"

Once she had agreed, he had been at a loss as to where to bring her. As they stepped outside the morgue, he prayed that divine intervention would guide him. He felt awkward. He knew that Julia was used to frequenting the best restaurants in town. The workers' tavern he occasionally ate at, just would not do. In the end, she had come to the rescue. Julia had suggested a small restaurant in the Italian quarter. They walked in and she was immediately greeted by the owner. They were guided to a table and William politely pulled a chair out or her. He looked around with interest.

"You have been here before Julia. They seem to know you?" he asked

"Yes I have." She answered. "I developed a taste for Italian food from my years in Europe. I spent some time in Florence."

For most of the time, William managed to ignore the class difference between Julia and him, but sometimes the odd comment like this, brought it to the surface. She had traveled and seen places he could only dream of.

He pushed those feelings aside: "You spent time there then?" he asked.

"Yes. Yes I did." Answered Julia. "Bishop and McGill were great universities, but I developed in interest in pathology, and unlike here, it's considered a real science in Europe. So I spent several years studying there, and in my spare time, travelling. "

She looked at him: "You would love Florence William. ….." William sat back and listened to her. She was not fooling him. He knew she was trying to steer the conversation away from her youthful indiscretion. After all, it had been the excuse he had used to talk her into this dinner. He let her go on for a while and when she stopped talking for a second to take a sip of her wine, he saw his opening: "So Julia, tell me all about this midnight swim."

Julia made a production of putting her wine glass down. William noticed her looking over his shoulder, making eye contact with someone. She was just about to start talking when the waiter walked over, interrupting her. He did not need to be a detective to realize that she had silently called the waiter over. William smiled. Good move. Getting the details out of her was going to be an immensely enjoyable challenge. It had gone on like that all evening. He would patiently wait for an opening and just when he thought he had her cornered, she would deftly evade him. Yes Julia Ogden was a worthy opponent. An opponent he was enjoying crossing swords with.

…

The accordion player played his last note and William lifted his head. Even though they were the only couple left on the dance floor, they had still been dancing close to one another, their bodies touching, her head on his shoulder.

Julia lifted her head: "It's late. We should leave."

William did not want the evening to end, but she was right. It was late. Soon they were outside, enjoying the beautiful summer evening as he walked her home. William had enjoyed playing this verbal game with her all night long but now was the time to make his move:

"You know Julia, I have done dozens, no hundreds of interrogations. I can recognize evasion tactics when I see them, and you have been evading my questions all night long."

Julia leaning on his arm looked over to him: "Really William? You actually want to know about that?"

William smiled back at her: "Yes really. I do want to know."

Julia was silent for a second. "I'm not sure what else there is to say William. I was young and enjoying being young."

William who had not had the leisure of being young, urged her on, enjoying as much as her this recollection of her youth.

"….and it was such a hot day William. You cannot imagine how good that cool water felt…"

_The young woman was leisurely swimming, her reddish blond hair floating on the calm lake. The full moon lighting her naked body….._

"It was a hot day. I'll grant you that." William, lost in his fantasy, played the worst chess move of his life by divulging a detail he should not have known. Julia stopped dead and looked at him with a glint in her eyes. Checkmate. The chess game was over. She had won. Well to be honest, it was not so much that she had won as much as he had lost it. The vision of her swimming naked had distracted him and he had lost his focus.

"William, whatever your middle name is, Murdoch! You commandeered my arrest report! You read the file! "She was the winner of their little game and to her the spoils. She set out to enjoy them by teasing him: "Now, now Detective, I'm sure this qualifies as abuse of power."

William, blushing, could not deny it: "Yes. Yes I did." He smiled looking bashfully at her. "Do you mind terribly?"

She leaned over squeezing his arm: "No William. Not at all."

They continued walking and soon they were at her house. They went up the steps and turned to look at each other. William spoke first: "I had a wonderful time tonight Julia."

Her eyes were dark and her voice breathy as she responded: "As did I William."

William may not have been the most experienced of men when it came to women, but he had realized a while back that women did find him attractive. While he rarely responded to the signals the fairer sex sent his way, it did not mean he was unaware of them. Julia Ogden was signalling tonight. Maybe the game was not over. Maybe he had one move left. He deliberately and slowly stepped closer to her. He was so close he could hear her breath shallowly. She whispered: "William."

William slowly brought her hand to his lips. He let his lips linger for a second longer than it should. He looked at her directly in her eyes.

"Goodnight Julia." He turned and walked away, a smile on his lips. The checkmate was his after all. William walked home a happy man.


	11. Chapter 11

Julia was putting the finishing touch on her hair. She was getting dressed for an outing with William. He had invited her for an afternoon at the park. Viennese waltzes were on the orchestra's program and Julia was very much looking forward to it. She would have enjoyed spending the whole day with him, but Sunday mornings were of course reserved for mass. She stopped for a second and looked at herself in the mirror. Mass… For most of the time, she managed to ignore these differences between William and her, but sometimes it was impossible; his unassailable belief in God, his rigid sense of right and wrong, their class differences. There was so much to drive them apart that sometimes the enormity of it all dwarfed her. She sighed and paused. After a few moments, she shook her head and picked up her hat. William would be here any moment. Ignoring all these problems had served her well so far. Maybe it was the best way forward? The doorbell rang and Julia started downstairs. She greeted William with a large smile.

"Well Good afternoon Detective. How are you on this fine sunny day? I must say, I have been quite looking forward to an afternoon of dancing in the park."

William, who admittedly had found mass longer than normal today, continued:

"I too Doctor am planning to enjoy this day."

He offered her his arm and she took it with a smile. They walked arm in arm to the park and the pleasant times they were having succeeded in making Julia forget her earlier misgivings about their relationship.

They arrived at the park and spent several moments just walking around. Julia knew many of the couples and greeted them with a nod of the head. They were slowly making their way to the dancing floor when she heard:

"Oh Julia. There you are. How are you?"

Julia turned around to find her Aunt Jenny escorted by her father. She was torn. She was happy to see her aunt, but somehow miffed at the sight of her father. Now that they were there, good manners took over. She turned to William.

"William. Please let me introduce my aunt Jenny and of course you have already met my father.

After Julia finished the introductions, William stepped closer to the older couple. He gallantly kissed Julia's aunt's hand and then turned around to shake Mr. Ogden's hand.

"Sir." Was all he said? Julia's father nodded back.

Julia looked at her father: "You did not tell me Aunt Jenny was in town Father?"

Her father, as unbending as his daughter, did not back down.

"You would have known, had you accepted my offer to dinner last week."

Jenny, used to the constant battles between father and daughter, made the command decision to defuse the situation. She walked over to Julia, took her arm and started walking with the younger woman.

"Now Julia, you must tell me what you have been doing with yourself."

The two men were left looking at each other and had no choice but to fall behind Julia and her aunt. They walked in silence for a while and finally Mr. Ogden turned to William.

"So Detective, Toronto criminals have kept you quite busy since we saw each other last. That business with Ruby's magician. The dinosaur murder and …." Mr. Ogden hesitated with a smile face on his face. "….the Music Academy." He looked at William before continuing: "I hear many of my acquaintances were on your list of suspects."

William lifted an eyebrow. The man was well informed. Julia would never had… He did not get to finish his thought before the older man interrupted him.

"Don't worry Murdoch, Julia was not my informant. If you must know, many of my club friends were on that list and could not contain their concerns at the possible scandal."

William was relieved: "Oh. Of course Sir. Well none of them were suspects and were not bothered. We were quite discreet."

Mr. Ogden nodded. He was silent for a while as they continued walking behind the two women. Finally he turned to William: "So Murdoch, you are now courting my daughter.

William had half expected the question. Julia's father, much like his daughter, was not a man to mince words. William decided a direct truthful answer was the only valid option. He answered confidently with: "Yes Sir. I am"

The older man tried to hide a smile at the impertinent answer the younger man had not realized he had uttered.

"And?" He prompted the Detective.

William, refusing to be intimidated, looked directly in the older man's eyes as he answered: "And your daughter is an extraordinary woman whom I greatly admire and respect Sir."

Mr. Ogden nodded. "Yes she is. She takes very much after her mother " He did not get to finish his sentence as William, without thinking, interrupted him.

"Then your wife must have been very beautiful Sir."

Mr. Ogden looked at the younger man with a smile. "Yes young man. My wife was also very beautiful."

William blushed at having been caught. They continued walking in silence for a while and finally Julia's father turned to William.

"You must realize Murdoch that what make her extraordinary also make her different from most women. She did not achieve what she did without battles and sacrifices."

William did not hesitate for a second: "I am aware of that Sir."

Julia's father looked at the younger man: "Are you? Are you really?"

* * *

><p>Julia had been enjoying her conversation with her aunt, but had not been able to stop worrying about her father and William alone together. She kept looking back to see how William was faring. Her aunt Jenny finally had enough of it.<p>

"Really Julia! Would you want him if he couldn't handle your father?"

Julia stopped in her track, looked at her aunt and blushed.

"Aunt Jenny, must you be so ….."

Her aunt finished the sentence for her: "honest?"

Julia put her head down and smiled at her aunt. : "Of course you are right Aunt Jenny.

They walked for a bit and Julia continued: "I am happy you are here. It's been ages since you were here last. I've missed you. Do you think we can convince these men to head for the dance pavilion?"

* * *

><p>Julia was sitting in her back porch enjoying a glass of wine. The afternoon had been nothing else but wonderful. Even her father's presence had not managed to spoil the day. William and she had danced many waltzes and she had even had an enjoyable turn or two with her father. William had walked her home and to her great disappointment, had refused her offer to stay for a while. He had made up for it by giving her a searing kiss that had her trembling by the time he was done. She had watched him walk away until he had disappeared around the street corner. She sighed and looked at the clock; time for bed. She had an early day tomorrow. She needed a few hours at midday. She had promised Issac to go medical equipment shopping like they used to do in their student days.<p>

* * *

><p>Julia was looking at the bullet extractor. She did not need one of course. She had several: one in her medical bag, one at the morgue. She even had one at her house. But this box set was so beautiful. How could she resist? She then had a brilliant idea. William. She could buy it for William. He could use it if there was ever an occasion when he needed a bullet extracted and she wasn't around. She knew the other coroners used crude tools that damaged the bullet markings William so liked to analyze. Excited at the idea, she immediately went to the attendant. Isaac joined her just as she was paying.<p>

"A Colin's bullet extractor Julia? Don't you have several already?"

Julia blushed. "Yes. Yes I do. This one if for William."

Isaac took a long look at her before speaking. "So it has become serious between the two of you."

At Julia's questioning gaze, he continued: "I saw you in the park several weeks ago. You were with Murdoch."

Julia smiled as she answered back: "You should have come over to say hello Isaac."

The young doctor smiled. "Well Julia. Murdoch and you were …. Somewhat occupied."

Julia blushed at the memory of what they had done that night.

Isaac looked at her right in the eyes. "How much have you told him?"

Julia looked down: "Not much." And then: "Nothing."

"I see." Said Isaac.

Julia took a long breath: "Oh Isaac, I'm so confused. I know I should tell him, but I don't know how, or when. It seems too early in our relationship to tell him now. Then it'll be too late. I don't know what to do."

Isaac hugged her and said nothing. After a while he looked down at her. "Let's just enjoy today Julia."

* * *

><p>Julia walked back to the morgue as she got closer and closer she became excited at the thought of giving William his gift. She walked over to station four and was pleased to see that William had his office's blinds down. She quickly knocked and entered:<p>

"Detective. I'm sorry, but I must see you on a most urgent matter."

William looked up: "Yes Doctor. What is it?"

Julia quickly walked to him and started kissing him: "This."

Julia did not know then that it would be a long time until William and she kissed again.


	12. Chapter 12

Julia was watching the scenery as the New York Central Railway train continued its journey to the American city. She had needed a break from Toronto, a break from William, and more importantly a break from seeing him and Enid Jones together. There was a difference between knowing William was courting Mrs. Jones and actually witnessing it. The telegraph case had given her ample opportunity to see their burgeoning romance. It had become quickly obvious to Julia that William had definitively moved on. She had sent a telegram to Ruby informing her of her arrival.

Julia had been on the platform for several minutes when she finally saw Ruby. A half smile came to her face. She was late… as usual. Ruby ran to her and gave her a big hug. Ruby stepped back, looked at her older sister, guessed correctly, and without any hesitation blurted out:

"What did that bastard copper do you to Jules?"

Julia shook her head and laughed. The way she was feeling right now, only Ruby could make her laugh, and she had managed it on her first utterance. Yes visiting Ruby had been a good idea.

"Oh Ruby, William is of legal birth and you know it."

Ruby noticed that Julia had not denied that something had happened. She looked around the busy train station.

"Let's get you home. You look exhausted."

Julia responded with a sad smile: "Well I've not been sleeping well of late."

Ruby's heart went out to her sister. Unlike most people, she knew there was more to Julia Ogden than the successful career woman persona she displayed to the world. Her success had come at a cost; a cost that seemed to demand payment every so often. She linked her arm with her older sister and led her out of the station.

"Well Julia, you made a good decision to come here. This time I promise you, we will have so much fun."

* * *

><p>And fun they did have. The fortnight Julia spent in New York was filled with parties and many an evening, the two sisters would only make it home in the early hours of the morning. Ruby had even come home alone on a handful of times. Last night had been such an occasion. Ruby was having her morning coffee by the time Julia walked in the door. Julia went to the kitchen, poured herself a cup and sat down at the table in front of her sister. Ruby, without saying a word, got up, went to her bedroom, came back with a small box which she put in front of Julia.<p>

"Here, have mine. At the rate you're going, you'll run out soon, and trust me, with some of these men; you definitely do not want to go without."

Julia blushed as she looked at her sister. She picked up the box and absently looked at it. Lost in her memories she said nothing for a while. Finally, she lifted her head and looked at Ruby:

"Do you remember when I gave you "the talk" and gave you a box of these?"

Ruby smiled at the shared memory: "And I'll always be grateful you did that Julia."

Another talk was needed. Ruby had been waiting for Julia to open up. But now, two weeks into the visit, it had become obvious that without prompting, Julia was going to stay silent.

"You know Julia. It was more than the sex education that I appreciated from that talk. The life lessons about choices and consequences; the respect yourself and others will respect you, have always stayed with me. I doubt anybody, even Mother, could have done better than you did that day."

At the mention of her mother, Julia's eyes filled up. "Oh Ruby, that part of the talk was a verbatim copy of what Mother told me when I turned sixteen, so in a sense that was Mother talking to you."

Ruby reached across the table and took Julia's hand in hers: "And what would Mother say now if she could see you."

By now tears were liberally flowing down Julia's cheeks. It had taken years for Julia to recover from that fateful winter. She'd had agonized over what to do about her pregnancy for weeks. She had barely recovered the botched abortion when a telegram had arrived informing her of her mother's death.

Julia looked at her sister: "Bringing Mother into this. That's not fair Ruby."

Unrelenting, Ruby fired back: "Unfair yes. But true, and you know it."

Julia opened her mouth to say something and then defeat came to her face and Ruby could not stand it anymore. She stood up and took her older sister in her arms as she cried. After a while, she slowly walked her over to the settee where they both sat down. Ruby spoke first.

"I take it William and you, it's over."

Julia took a long breath: "Yes."

Ruby waited for Julia to say more. After a few moments Julia started speaking.

"We had a case. A young girl was found dead, drained of her blood. During the investigation we discovered that she had been pregnant, and in a desperate effort to terminate the pregnancy, she ingested pennyroyal oil. She died from it. "

Julia stopped for a moment and looked at Ruby. "Isaac was her doctor. William wrongly thought he was involved. He even suspected me of wrongdoing. It became very ugly Ruby. I knew I had to tell him."

"And you did?" asked Ruby.

Julia's voice lowered to a whisper: "Yes."

Ruby took Julia's hand in hers again: "I gather William did not take well to the news."

Julia had a humourless laugh. "Well that is an understatement Ruby."

Ruby looked at Julia: "Are you sure it's really over Julia? Perhaps he just needs time to absorb the news."

Julia's voice broke as she answered: "Oh yes. It is definitely over Ruby. You should have seen his reaction. The worse is, he does not even know everything yet. Just finding out I once had an abortion overwhelmed him. Can you imagine his reaction if he were to find out it left me sterile?"

"Maybe you should give him a chance. William struck me as a thoughtful intelligent man. Surely he would understand the situation you were in?"

Julia shook her head: "No Ruby. You did not see the look in his eyes. Remember years ago when I told you I was afraid that one day I would see that look in the face of the man I love. Well I saw it. And that's only to the news that I had an abortion. If he were to find out the consequences of my abortion…."

"Maybe in time he'll….?" continued Ruby.

Julia did not let her finish. "No Ruby. He won't. Not that it matters anymore anyway. He's already moved on. He's been seeing another woman." Julia hesitated for a few seconds.

"Oh Ruby. She's a widow, with a child. " Julia laughed sadly. "Her fertility is not in doubt."

Ruby had no words to comfort her sister. She could only take her in her arms as Julia cried.

* * *

><p>Julia stayed another week in New York. A week spent with days at museums coupled with early nights. Finally it was time to go home. Ruby escorted her to the train station. She looked at her sister: "You look better Julia."<p>

Julia smiled to Ruby. "I feel better Ruby. Thanks to you."

Ruby looked at Julia: "You know what you need Julia? You need a change. Go out. Meet people. Do something different. I just tried hot air ballooning for the first time last month. It was exhilarating. An old friend of mine just opened up a school of aeronautics in Stoufeville. His name is Reginald Poundsett. You should look into it."

Julia thought about it for a second, and then answered: "What a brilliant idea Ruby. I think I will."


	13. Chapter 13

William was awakened from his thoughts by the noise of the parishioners lining up for communion. The mass had seemed short today. Perhaps it had felt short because for so many months he had attended high mass with Enid. After he had parted ways with Mrs. Jones, he had fallen back to his old habit of attending low mass back at his parish. The simple rites suited him better than the more ostentatious high mass. William had also not appreciated Enid's tardiness each Sunday morning. She always seemed to have a last minute problem that would make them one of the last few parishioners to arrive. William had detested the long walk up the main alley to Enid's bench.

The priest gave his final blessing and William picked up his hat as he got up. On his way out of the church, he had irrationally hoped that Julia would be waiting for him as she had for so many Sundays when they had been courting. He half smiled at the memory of her reaction to his invitation to attend mass with him…..

A wry look came to Julia as tilted her head: "I don't think so William. Organized religion and I do not get along." A smile came to her face as took a few steps towards him. She put her arms around his neck.

"I could be waiting for you at your church though, with my bicycle and a picnic lunch. What do you think?"

And she had been there that following Sunday, with her bicycle, a picnic basket… and her smile. It had been like that for most Sundays. For a few short weeks, he had reverted to childhood, anxiously looking at his watch every five minutes, hoping the priest would not do such long sermons. And, for most Sundays, she had been there, waiting for him. As William walked down the steps of the church, he looked over to the side, to the tree where she had taken the habit of standing under while she waited for him. She was not there of course, but a constable was. A grim look came on William's face. It seems, even Sundays were fair game for criminals. He walked over to the constable.

"What have you Worsely?"

"A geologist named Humphrey Breen has been found dead."

William nodded his head as he walked over to his bicycle.

"And Dr. Ogden?" asked William just before taking off.

"She was not at her home, but she is being fetched Sir." Answered the Constable.

* * *

><p>William was trying very hard to stay calm. The North West Mounted sergeant was trying his patience. His arrogant belief in his observations and deductions were annoying William to the utmost. The news of Julia not being at her home so early in the morning had already put him in a bad mood, and now this Sergeant…. A few moments later, William heard the sound of a carriage coming to a stop beside them. He froze when he heard Julia giggle as she was being helped out of the carriage by that Poundsett fellow. William's worst fears seemed to have come true. All at once, he was hurt, angry, disappointed and broken hearted. It was barely past nine in the morning and she was showing up with the man. The Constable had said she had not been at her home when they had called for her. For them to be together so early in the day, only one conclusion could be reached. His suspicions were confirmed by her next sentence:<p>

"Thank you for an absolutely exhilarating experience."

William could barely believe his ears when he heard Poundsett reply that he hoped to do it again later. Did the man have no class, to openly state to the whole world he planned to do with Julia later! And Julia… she agreed.

Poundsett left and Julia made her way to William. She had that wonderful smile of hers when she greeted him. She seemed so happy. He now felt a fool for thinking she would wait for him; a woman like her, beautiful, rich successful. It had been a near miracle in the first place that they had courted.

William started explaining to Julia that no murder had been committed; that the poor man had fallen out of the window. Sergeant Jasper Linney had observed with interest the havoc the doctor's arrival had triggered in the detective. He also noticed that the Doctor could not stop herself from giving side glances to Murdoch. He watched them for a few more moments before walking over. William was jealous when the North West Mounted introduced himself. He did cut a fine figure in that red uniform. Did Julia have to smile like that to him? William nearly lost it when the North West Mounted started talking about a second victim, but professional courtesy stopped him from exploding. Soon they were done and William started walking over to his bicycle to ride back to Station Four. Jasper Linney had his own plans. He went over to Julia, and with a gallant smile asked:

"I am wondering Doctor if I may ride back to the Station House with you? I hear that it is right beside the morgue. You see I would very much like to pick your brain on matters of pathology. In the wilds of British Columbia, I unfortunately do not have access to a coroner. I am afraid I have to make do on my own."

Julia answered immediately: "Of course Sergeant you may. I would be delighted to help you any way I can."

William reeled when he saw Linney help Julia back in the carriage. He had never regretted riding his bicycle so much as he did today. Meanwhile Julia and Jasper spent an enjoyable ride discussing her work as a coroner. Julia was impressed by the intelligence and the wide knowledge of the North West Mounted. Other than William, she had never met someone as widely read as the Sergeant. Soon their conversation moved away from work. Julia noticed Jasper looking interestingly at the passing scenery.

"So Sergeant, is this your first trip to Toronto?" asked Julia

"Indeed it is Doctor. As a matter of fact, I have never been any further east than the western plains. I am quite enjoying the city." He paused and turned to her.

"You are from Toronto then?"

"Yes I am, but I did spend many years away for my studies. I have been back now about four years and am enjoying rediscovering Toronto. It did change in the years I was gone."

An excited look came to Julia's face as she continued: "As a matter of fact Sergeant, I recently discovered a new way to view the city. I have started ballooning and the city looks so much different from above."

Sergeant Linney, intelligent and unlike William, unencumbered by personal feelings, came to the correct conclusion regarding Julia's early morning's activities.

"So just now then, you must just have finished a morning ride …." Julia and Jasper finished the sentence together

"…to take advantage of the calm morning air."

Julia looked surprisingly at Jasper: "You are aware of air mass stability Sergeant? You have also been up in a balloon perhaps?"

The sergeant smiled as he answered: "No Doctor, I just read about it, but I have to confess that after listening to your experience I am very much eager to try it."

Julia looked up curiously at the policeman. It was strange how he resembled William in so many ways.

From the window in his office, William had been watching the street for the carriage. It finally came around the corner and for the second time that day, he saw a smiling Julia being helped out of a carriage by a man other than him.

* * *

><p>William could not believe his eyes. They had barely met and yet, here they were reciting poetry together. William was jealous of the easy familiarity these two had reached in just one day. It had taken him months to feel this comfortable around her. He had to force his attention back to the case. Julia had just finished explaining about the perforated ear drums. Both policemen were about to leave the morgue when William informed Linney:<p>

"You go ahead Sergeant. I'll catch up with you in a minute." He turned to Julia. She had her hands deep in the chest cavity of the victim. When she realized he had stayed, she coolly looked up to him:

"Anything else I can do for you Detective?"

William was nervous: "Yes. Doctor… Julia…."

At the use of her Christian name, Julia lifted her head and noticed the serious look on his face. She quit working and slowly walked over to the sink to wash her hands. It seems as though she took forever as William waited. Finally she turned to him while drying her hands.

"So William. I'm all yours."

Even though William had been rehearsing this talk for days, he was at a loss as to what to say. He tried.

"As you know, over the past few months, Mrs Jones and I have been courting."

Julia's heart skipped a beat as a tight feeling developed in her chest. He was about to announce his engagement to Mrs. Jones. A closed look came on Julia's face, but she said nothing, allowing him to continue.

"In the last few weeks, I have come to the realization that…:"

William was stopped by two constables and a detective from another station house entering the morgue. Julia had no choice but to give them her attention. William took a long breath and left.

Julia watched him leave from the corner of her eye. For the first time, she was happy they had been interrupted. She was not ready to hear William say that was planning to marry Mrs. Jones.

* * *

><p>George was talking: "I think Sir, you will find the results of my investigation very interesting." At that, George and Brackenried left the room leaving him alone to read the report. William knew it was wrong, using his power as a policeman for a private matter, but could not stop himself, and read the report. It was the best report he had ever been given. Reginald Poundsett was not Julia's lover but her ballooning teacher. That morning they had arrived together at Mr. Breen's house, they had not spent the night together, but had gotten up early to take advantage of the stable early morning air ballooning required. He grabbed his hat and ran out of his office. If he hurried, he might just be on time.<p>

* * *

><p>"Are you willing to see which way the wind takes us?" William hesitated.<p>

"It could be anywhere?" He answered.

As the balloon slowly rose, Julia continued: "Yes William it could." The time for thinking was over. He had to act. He took a few steps and jumped in.

Julia smiled indulgently at William. They were now nearly one hour into the flight and William had not stopped talking about the experience. The moment the balloon had started rising, William had been mesmerized at the sights below him. Every thing amazed him: houses, villages, fields. He was now looking at a formation in the distance.

"Do you think Julia that we are seeing the Niagara escarpment? He did not wait for her answer. He immediately continued.

"I estimate that this north east wind is pushing us at about twelve miles per hour. Considering where we started, and our height which I think to be about 800 ft. We should be able to see it."

Julia, from a previous trip with Reggie, knew that it was the escarpment they were seeing, but William was so excited that she was not able to wedge any word in, so she just let him talk. Julia smiled tenderly at him. He was like a small boy in a candy store, unable to focus on anything more than just a few moments. Julia enjoyed just watching him be happy. After an hour, the balloon slowly started to sink as the air inside cooled. They landed in a farmer's field. William turned to Julia: "What now?

"Now we wait for Reggie to come get us." she said.

"That could take hours." William answered.

"Yes it could William." She decided to be bold: "What shall we do while we wait William?"

William blushed. Julia took pity on him. "It won't take that long William. Farmers are usually curious when big balloons land on their farm. I'm quite sure we'll have a visitor soon."

William took a long breath in. Now that they were back on earth, reality hit. He had to talk; had to tell her how he felt. He took her hand in his.

"Julia, I wonder….if you would agree to us starting over again."

Julia took a long breath: "Mrs. Jones William? What of her?"

"We ceased courting a few weeks ago. I….. " William hesitated. "She was not you Julia."

The statement pleased Julia more than she could say, but a few things needed to be said:

"Starting over from where William?" From after our falling out? " she asked.

"If you can." Answered William.

Julia bowed her head and took a few seconds to answer. She needed to ask, needed to know: "And my abortion William? I cannot change that it happened."

William tried to explain his feelings: "Julia. I've had time to think about all of this. I would be lying if I said that it was something that I found easy to reason out. It was not. I thought about it for a long time. Finally I realized that your abortion, just like your schooling, your travels, your profession, all of these things make you who you are."

William stopped to smile before continuing: "And who you are Julia Ogden is the most fascinating intelligent kind and learned woman I know, and the woman I want to be with."

He stopped and looked at her, waited for her to make the next step.

"Oh William….." She threw herself in his arms. He held her tight as they started kissing. Soon, they were interrupted by a voice

"It's a man and a woman Pa."

A young boy, about twelve, was looking at them.

…..

They sat close to one another as they made their way back to Toronto, Julia knew she had one more thing to tell him, but not today…


	14. Chapter 14

Julia woke up with a smile on her face. It was Sunday, and like every Sunday for the past month, she was meeting William after mass. She got up, quickly got dressed and went over to the kitchen to check on the picnic basket Lilly had prepared. Julia smiled. Lilly knew her well. She had packed her favourite picnic food. She was humming happily as she cycled to the church.

Julia was waiting under the shade of an old oak tree when the doors to the church opened and the first parishioners started to come out. She could not see William. That was odd she thought. Normally, he was part of the first ones out. Oh well, he must be chatting with one of the parishioners. She settled herself back against the tree and waited as more people exited the church. Finally, the crowd slowed to a trickle and soon, a young priest walked out. He was about to walk to the rectory when he noticed Julia waiting under the tree. He walked over and greeted her: "Good morning Doctor."

Somehow, Julia was not surprised he knew who she was. William had mentioned that he preferred the young vicar over the older parish priest. The young man was William's confessor. Suddenly Julia felt awkward. The young priest probably knew more about her than she wanted, and that annoyed her. She had never understood this need of bearing one's soul to a complete stranger. She had difficulty expressing her feelings to people she loved, never mind a priest.

"Good morning Father." She politely answered back. She had gone to finishing school after all. The young priest smiled at her.

"I am afraid Doctor that William did not attend church this morning; a case perhaps?"

Julia was thoughtful. A case, then she should have been summoned. She consoled herself by assuming that no murder must have been committed explaining why she had not been called. Just as she was about to leave, the priest spoke up:

"Any time you want to accompany William to mass Doctor, you are quite welcomed."

Julia, a bit taken aback by the offer, took the easy way out. "I am not Catholic Father."

The priest was not fooled, but let it go: "I am sure God would not mind."

Julia was starting to not like the conversation: "Well thank you Father, but I think not. Good day."

Julia left and cycled back home. Surely William would get in touch with her there.

* * *

><p>"Oye you. What are you doing there? Trying to hitch a free ride are you?"<p>

He woke up disoriented. He did not have the chance to do anything before the railway guard dragged him out of the coal wagon and dumped him unceremoniously by the tracks. He got up and started walking away. After a few minutes he stopped. Where was he going? More importantly who was he? He searched his brain and could not come up with anything. It was all a blank. His heart started racing. He looked around. Nothing looked familiar. The guard was screaming at him. He continued on until he was out of the rail yard. Finally he sat down and ran his hand through his air. The back of his head felt tender. He must have hit his head which probably caused his amnesia. He felt loss for a moment, but after a few seconds, started to look through the pockets of his clothes. All that he found was a steamer ticket to Bristol with a name on it: John Dawson. Bristol, that was in England….. Well what else did he have to go on? He picked himself up and eventually managed to find his way to the port. He was lucky; the ship was steaming away the next morning.

* * *

><p>Julia was a bit miffed as she cycled to work. William had not even bothered to send word yesterday. She knew he often gets caught up in his work, but surely he could have tried harder. She went to the morgue hoping William would pop over to explain himself. By ten o'clock, he had not showed up. Julia lost patience and walked over to the Station House. She found his office empty but did see the Inspector in his office. She knocked on his door and entered.<p>

"Excuse me Inspector, but when do you expect Detective Murdoch back?"

Brackenried put his tea cup down: "I'm not sure Doctor. He did not come in this morning."

Julia started to worry. "Is he still working on the case from yesterday?" She asked

A puzzled look came on Brackenried's face: "A case doctor? We had no cases yesterday."

Julia felt her legs go weak and sat down opposite Thomas. Worry was all over her face.

"Sir. We had arranged to meet after church, but he never showed. Do you think something happened to him?"

Thomas looked at the doctor. He knew of course that they had resumed their relationship. They had both tried to keep it low key, but the happy look they had both sported over the last few weeks had given them away. Even though he was also starting to worry, he nevertheless tried to reassure the doctor.

"I wouldn't worry too much Doctor. He probably got caught up in something interesting and forgot the time. "

Julia was not comforted at all. He never missed church, and if he could not make one of their assignations, he would always let her know. This time he had failed at both. She looked up to Brackenried: "But surely Sir….."

Thomas interrupted her as he saw George walk into the Station House. He had sent him over to Mrs. Kitchen to fetch Murdoch. Noticing the constable was alone; he decided to not discuss the situation in front of Julia.

"I'm sorry Doctor. Could you excuse me for a second? I need to talk to Crabtree."

He walked out and took George to the side: "So Crabtree what did you find out?"

George had a worried look on his face.

"Sir, I talked to his landlady. He left to go to church yesterday morning but never came back."

Unknown to both men, Julia had quietly walked up to them and heard George's answer.

"But he never arrived." She said. At the sound of her voice, both men turned.

"Bloody Hell." Muttered Brackenried. "I told you Doctor to wait in my office."

Angry and worried, Julia could only lash out at Thomas: "How long did you think you were going to be able to hide it from me Inspector?"

Thomas had been doing this job long enough to know that it was not him she was angry at. He gently took her by the arm and led her back in his office. He gestured over to bring in some tea. Just as he was about to close the door, he turned to George.

"You know what you have to do Crabtree. Leave no stone unturned. Use all the men if need be."

He then walked into his office. He did not need a statement from Julia, but he knew that talking would help.

"Now doctor, tell me when was the last time you saw Murdoch?"

* * *

><p>He found himself saved by a young barmaid. She had taken a chance on him and had hidden him from the men. She was now putting a dressing on his arm. He tried to explain the best he could how he had ended up in her pub, but in reality, even without his memory, he knew that his story was somewhat unbelievable. She tended to his arm and as she put the dressing on, a shadow of a memory came to him.<p>

_A young woman was wrapping a dressing around his bare chest. She was very close to him. Her body touching his. He breathed in and could smell the perfume on her hair. His heartbeat accelerated._

The barmaid tightened the dressing causing him to wince and made the memory disappear. She was talking.

"…..kind eyes…."

He might not know who he was, but he could recognize when a woman was making eyes at him and this barmaid definitely was. He was tempted, yet there was something holding him back. He just did not know what. She left to get him some food. He looked around and spotted a black board. It drew him over. He looked at the board for several seconds and without realizing what he was doing, he wiped out her menu and started writing information and numbers.

* * *

><p>George put the telephone down and took in a long breath in. He took a moment before getting up and walking over to Brakenried's office. He knocked and entered.<p>

"Sir. A report just came in." He had to pause before continuing. "A man was found dead behind Detective Murdoch's church. He was described as medium height, dark brown hair. Sir, he is also said to be wearing a dark suit along with a bowler hat."

Brackenried leaned back on his chair: "Bloody hell." He got up and his hand was shaking as he poured himself a drink. He drank it up in one swallow and put the glass down with a bang and repeated: "Bloody hell."

He turned to George: "Well you know what to do lad. Let's go."

George hesitated before leaving: "And Dr. Ogden Sir? Shall I fetch her also?"

Brackenried took a long breath, thought about it for a second then answered: "Get her Crabtree. She'll not thank us for keeping her in the dark, and it may not even be Murdoch."

George nodded his head and walked over to the morgue.

Julia was sitting at her desk. William had been missing for over a week now. Every man at the Station House had been on the case, but so far nothing had been found. They knew no more today then they had a week ago. The difference now was that Julia was getting more and more desperate. She had worked long enough with policemen to know that after a disappearance, the first few days were the most important and in that precious time, they had found nothing. Her mind drifted back to William, to memories of them working, of intimate moments together…

She was taken out of her reverie by the arrival of Constable Crabtree. She looked up hoping he was the bearer of good news. The normally jovial constable had been understandably sombre this past week. He did hero-worshipped William after all. But now…, now the look on his face elevated her fears.

George stopped for a second after he entered the morgue. The doctor looked up to him. He could see she was hoping he was bringing good news. It was breaking his heart that he was about to do the total opposite. He walked over and came to a stop in front of the doctor. It took all his willpower to lift his head and tell her.

"Doctor. There's been a body found in a field beside Detective Murdoch's church."

George watched as all hope left her face. Her face froze as she silently stared up at him.

He continued with the worst of the news: "And from the initial description….." He could not finish. "There's a carriage waiting for you outside." He felt a coward walking away like that, but he was sure that had he stayed, he would have been the one crying.

Julia followed him with her eyes as he walked away. She looked away and started breathing heavily as her chest tightened. Her eyes filled up with tears. She stayed like that for a moment, then took a long breath and started gathering her things. She walked outside and stepped inside the carriage. She was glad she was riding alone. She was not sure she could have made the trip with the three policemen. The carriage stopped and she walked over to the waiting men. After a moment's hesitation they went in. They walked up to the body and for a moment she lost it. She looked around, refusing to look down, delaying the moment. Finally she could delay no more. George helped her roll the body and finally she could breath. It was not William.

* * *

><p>Images rushed through his head; images of the Station House, of Brackenried… of Julia. He stood up.<p>

"Chief I am Detective William Murdoch."

The next few hours happened in a blur. Next, he was up in the tower fighting the sniper. Several hours later, he walked into Anna's pub. She flashed him a smile as she served a customer. He settled himself in the corner and watched her work. Eventually, the last customer left, and she closed up. She came to sit beside him.

"So William." The name felt strange to her. He was still Harry to her. "Have all your memories returned?"

He smiled back: "Yes they have."

"I see." She answered. They were both silent for a few moments. Things needed saying. William, as usual, did not know where to start. Anna, realizing that,, took the lead.

"Is Julia your wife William?"

"No she's not, but we are….. involved." he answered back.

Anna had already guessed the answer, but she was still disappointed.

"Seriously involved?" She had to ask.

William hesitated: "I think so yes…."

A perplexed look came upon Anna's face. "You don't know". Maybe there was hope for her after all.

William continued: "I hope so, but Julia and I… it's complicated."

Anna had to comment: "You're a man. She's a woman. It sounds pretty simple to me William."

He took a long breath: "Well it's not. She's rich" He paused. "Very rich. I'm poor. I'm Catholic, and she does not believe in God. She's educated. She is a doctor. I went to Jesuit College for too few a years." He stopped for a moment. When he started talking again, his voice took on a gentle tone: "She's intelligent, caring, beautiful, very beautiful. She has the oddest sense of humour. She forces me out of shell. She challenges me….."

Anna stopped listening to the actual words. Just listening to him, she knew that William was lost to her. He was in love with his Julia. It was evident. She let him talk. She could tell it was doing him good.

* * *

><p>Across the ocean, George Crabtree ran from the Station House to the morgue. He barged in and only stopped running when he came to a stop in front of Dr. Ogden. He was breathing heavily, but managed to talk.<p>

"Doctor. We just received a telegram from Bristol England. Detective Murdoch is alive. He lost his memory for several days. That's why we did not hear from him. He should be home in three days."

He stopped talking and stood there in front of her with a smile on his face. Before she realized what she was doing, she hugged him. He hugged her back. After a second, they awkwardly stepped away from each other but neither could take their silly grins off their face. George explained what he knew and just as he was about to leave, Julia stopped him.

"George. Thank You." He smiled and left.

* * *

><p>Julia was sitting at her desk trying to work. Concentrating was impossible. Her mind kept drifting back to the moments of a few hours ago…..<p>

The sounds of the constables' cheers broke them apart. Julia looked around embarrassingly as she blushed. She had thrown herself in William's arms and kissed him in front of everybody after all. They cheered again and she put her hand on his cheek. William smiled at her:

"I have very little to do here today. When I am done, I'll come to you."

Julia closed her eyes and smiled: "I would love that William."

She had then returned to the morgue. She looked at the clock. Even though it had only been an hour, it felt much longer to her. Finally she heard the morgue door open. William walked in and again, she ran to him and threw herself in his arms and started kissing him. After a moment, both were breathless and had to break apart. He spoke first.

"I take it we are alone."

"Yes I sent my assistants home earlier." She looked inquiringly at him: "Are you done at the Station House?"

"Yes I am." He answered.

Julia looked at him directly in the eyes as she asked: "Escort me home William?"

William's only answer was to offer her his arm. As they walked, Julia kept looking at him; still refusing to believe it was finally over. Every so often she would lean into him, brushing her body against his. She needed to touch him, to make sure he was really here. They barely talked. Finally, they arrived at her house and Julia turned to William:

"Stay William?" she asked.

William, a bit unsure, asked: "For dinner you mean?"

Julia lifted one of her eyebrow as she smiled: "That too if you want."

William swallowed. He hesitated for only a moment before opening the door. They walked in. He turned to Julia. She took him by the hand and led him upstairs.


End file.
